File affidavit on cases against lawmakers within 10 days: High Court

Saurabh Malik

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 20

Less than two months after the Punjab and Haryana High Court made clear its intent to fast lane cases involving sitting and erstwhile parliamentarians and legislators of Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh, a 10-day deadline was today set for Punjab and the Punjab Police to file affidavits in the matter. The Centre was also given liberty to file its response in form of an affidavit in the matter.

As the suo motu case, “In Re: Special Courts for MPs/MLAs”, for monitoring the progress of cases pending against MP/MLAs came up for resumed hearing g before the Bench of Justice Rajan Gupta and Justice Karamjit Singh, Additional Solicitor-General of India Satya Pal Jain submitted that he required another one weeks’ time to respond to the court’s previous order dated February 25. “He shall be at liberty to file an affidavit on or before the next date of hearing,” the Bench asserted.

The Bench also directed Punjab Additional Advocate General SPS Tinna and State’s Inspector-General of Police, Crime, Arun Pal Singh, to file an affidavit. The case will now come up for further hearing in April last week.

The Bench, on the previous date of hearing, had made it clear that the information, to be furnished to the court, would include details of cases pending with the Central Bureau of Investigation, the enforcement directorate and other Central investigating agencies.

The district judges of the two states and the Union Territory were also directed to furnish details of all such cases and to ensure speedy disposal. “They shall also send a report regarding the stage of such trials,” the Bench had added.

The amicus curiae or the friend of the court, Rupinder Khosla, had also told the Bench that the operative part of the Supreme Court order specifically mentioned monitoring the trial of all criminal cases instituted by the state.

The suggestion to set up special courts flows from recommendations of the Vohra committee, set up in 1993 by the Central government. The committee was constituted under the chairmanship of the then Union Home Secretary, NN Vohra, to take stock of all available information about activities of crime syndicates/mafia organisations, which had developed links with, and were being permitted by government functionaries and political personalities.

Among other things, the report recommended the setting up of an efficient “nodal cell” with powers to take stringent action against crime syndicates, while ensuring immunity from being exploited or influenced.