Patiala administration gives Supreme Court judge a raw deal

Aman Sood

Tribune News Service

Patiala, August 31

Supreme Court judge Dipak Mishra had to summon the Patiala administration and complain about its lack of preparation on Friday when he had come here to attend an official function.

Justice Mishra, who handled Yakub Memon’s case and already faces a threat, comes under the Z category. It was only after “a dressing down” that “the matter was resolved”.

On Friday, when the judge was on a visit to Patiala to attend an official function scheduled for Saturday at Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, he was in for a shock to find that the vehicle provided to him was “old and not fit for travelling”.

While the bulletproof Ambassador vehicle sent by the security wing was not up to the mark, the driver was also dressed informally.

Sources confirmed that as soon as he reached Patiala late evening, he found that in the humid conditions, the air-conditioner of his vehicle “did not work properly” and that it moved at a snail’s pace as compared to other bullet-proof cars. The judge also saw that the driver was “not wearing a uniform”.

Sources confirm that Justice Mishra immediately summoned the local administration and reported the discrepancies, complaining about the lack of preparation on the part of the state government and compromising his security.

“The DC who was present there along with the personal security officer, provided to the judge, were given a dressing down,” they added.

“We immediately sent a request to the security wing in Chandigarh and replaced the Ambassador overnight with a bullet-proof Montero. I briefed the judge that security staff drivers have no uniform in Punjab and the matter was resolved,” Patiala DC Ramvir Singh said.

Meanwhile, information gathered by The Tribune reveals that the Punjab security wing has only three bullet-proof vehicles, all of which are not in good condition.

“In fact, the one sent initially for the judge was the best,” said a security wing official.

Additional DGP (Security) BK Bawa said following Friday’s incident, he has sent written orders making mandatory the wearing of uniform by drivers on VIP duty. “On Friday, when the local authorities brought the matter to our notice, we replaced the car with a Montero from the Chief Minister’s cavalcade,” he said.