CHANDIGARH: The Punjab and Haryana High Court, last week, banded over the investigation of the case relating to the disappearance of the three Ludhiana-based businessmen to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
The order follows the inability of the Ludhiana police to produce Vinod Kumar, his diver Mukhtiar Singh and brother-in-law Ashok Kumar, in the Court, as required by the Court. The order of Justice V.K Jhanji comes after weeks of wrangling in the now infamous “Saini case™ in which the Ludhiana police has been accused of having kidnapped the trio in a habeas corpus petition. However, the Judge did not accept the contention of the petitioners for suspension and transfer of Ludhiana SSP Sumedh Singh Saini and other police officers.
Unlike the last bearing, the public was not allowed Into the court room, ‘The order to ask CBI for investigations came despite opposition from the Advocate General of Punjab G.K. Chatrath and Hira Lal Sibal, counsel for Sumedh Saini, SSP Ludhiana, who had argued that the CBI inquiry would erode public faith in the state police.
Justice Jhanji, in his 20-page order, said that in the given circumstances he was inclined to direct the CBI to look into the matter.
He said such a measure, however becomes all them more essential in view of the allegations that the police was responsible for depriving the life and liberty of the citizens in utter disregard of the procedures, which make the police constitutionally duty-bound to protect the same, The police have all along denied any hand in the kid napping.
Justice Jhanji directed the Registrar (Judicial), to hand over all the documents relating to the case to the CBI, to commence investigations and asked the Inspectors General of Police, Operations and Internal Security, who were investigating the matter to render assistance to the CBI.
Article extracted from this publication >> April 1, 1994
