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Judge's Honest Remarks Irk Indian Government Apologists

NEWS REPORT

 

 

 

Chandigarh, Punjab, November 26, 2013

In a move without precedent, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has virtually indicted its own judge for having brought out the truth about the fake encounters against Sikhs, by labelling the Judge’s ruling as “uncalled for” observations.

The High Court then went further in an attempt to once again bury the truth: it gratuitously declared that the Punjab Police had ‘played a salutary role in dealing with militancy.’

The High Court failed to explain why the findings of a trial judge, after listening to and weighing all the evidence, could be dismissed as mere ‘observations‘, while comments by other judges EIGHT YEARS later, who had NOT been at the trial or had an opportunity to hear the evidence from the witnesses, would be acceptable!

A Division Bench has now also set aside the orders of a CBI probe ordered by the same trial judge -  Mr Justice Ranjit Singh -- of the same Punjab and Haryana High Court, on April 1, 2008.

THE CASE

Acting on a petition for directions to the CBI to register separate FIRs regarding 10 murders and “encounters” after “physical torture at CIA Staff, Moga”, Justice Ranjit Singh had in April 2008 directed the premier investigating agency to look into the matter. In the petition, a ‘black cat‘, Satwant Singh Manak, had stated that he was an eyewitness, but had a change of heart. The victims were killed from “time to time” by police officers who then prepared false documents of police encounters. Some of the bodies were disposed of without “showing in the police proceedings”.

An appeal in the case was filed by Bakhashi Ram, Darshan Singh, Bachan Singh Randhawa and other police officers.

THE ROSTER

Taking up the appeals FIVE YEARS LATER, a hand-selected Bench consisting of Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice Augustine George Masih came up with the unique and bizarre argument that the petition was defective because it had not been filed by the family of the alleged victims, but a Punjab Police constable.

Thus, a ruling that an affidavit filed by a police officer carries no weight? Here’s what the Court said:

“The petition has not been styled as a public interest litigation, but effectively is so. That is what it was urged before the [justice Ranjit Singh] as also before us. As per the roster assigned by the Chief Justice, such public interest litigation matters are to be heard by the First Bench, in any case by a Division Bench. [Justice Ranjit Singh] in the impugned order on April 1, 2008, proceeded on the basis that there was a larger public interest involved.

“[Justice Ranjit Singh] was, thus, quite conscious of the fact that he had given a colour of public interest litigation to the present petition … Judicial disciple (sic) demanded that on having come to a conclusion that the petition must proceed being akin to a public interest litigation, the same should have been directed to be placed before the appropriate Bench as per roster and it was not for [Justice Ranjit Singh] to give his opinion in the matter.

SWEEPING OBSERVATIONS

The Division Bench asserted the observations made by Justice Ranjit Singh suggest he was of the opinion that it was a “usual and routine practice” of the Punjab Police to have encounter killings; and the police officials did not receive even a scratch, while all alleged terrorists died. “The fact that Punjab state went through a period of difficult times requiring special efforts to maintain law and order is well known and that the police played a salutary role.

“In this, some excesses may have been possible, but that does not make a rule. If there was inappropriate conduct of certain police officers, the whole police force cannot be painted with the same brush denigrating and belittling their efforts”.

The Bench added: “How can one say that the police which has faced so many incidents, does not know what happens during ambush; the FIRs registered by the police are generally one sided; usual mode of investigation is to close the case after declaring the person escaped as proclaimed offender; it is difficult to find many officers of the Punjab police free from taints who could be entrusted with the investigation etc … A much greater restraint was the least which was expected on such an issue”.

[The above statements by the Bench are, to say the least, bizarre. The author judges had no evidence to back up these generalizations; they were simply pulled out of thin air.]

ISSIUE OF RECUSAL

The Division Bench went on further to suggest that Justice Ranjit Singh should have avoided passing a verdict because of his opinion on police functioning. “Where there are large number of observations in generality expressing a particular view as to how the functioning of the Punjab Police is preconceived by [Justice Ranjit Singh], obviously there is a subconscious influence of a perceived notion of its functioning which is not based on the facts of the case and which has given rise to sweeping directions in the present case. If this was the view of the learned [Justice Ranjit Singh], it was another reason for [him] to eschew giving his judicial verdict on the matter.”

CBI INQUIRY

The Bench observed: “The CBI itself stated the futility of the exercise to be carried out as the whole petition revolves around the personal grievance of the petitioner against the superior officers under whom he was working …

“There was lack of specific information with regard to the time, date and in what manner the offences were committed with no explanation as to why the original petitioner kept mum for such a long time after commission of the alleged offences.

“The heavily overburdened CBI pleaded that it should not be burdened with the investigation of such a nature … With the stand of the CBI coupled with the absence of any material with the petitioner or detailed facts being set out in the petition, there was hardly any occasion for directing investigation by the CBI. Merely because the original petitioner was unhappy with the department, could not be a ground to take cognisance of his petition and put the burden on the other officers to face CBI inquiry”.

[This is the same CBI -- India’s Central Bureau of Investigation -- that has repeatedly thwarted any attempts to bring the criminals within the police and bureaucracy to justice … for 29 years!]

THE CONCLUSIONS

The Bench asserted that Jusice Ranjit singh, rather than dismissing the petition, proceeded to issue wide ranging directions on the basis of his personal perceptions, especially in regard to the Punjab Police.

“It is not an innocuous direction … It required at least some appropriate material to be on record with proper averments to come to a conclusion that such an investigation was necessary”.

Dubbing the petitions as “clearly an abuse of the process of court”, the Bench added it was accentuated by the petitioner’s desire for personal gains. “We are also of the view that neither were general observations made by [Justice Ranjit Singh] warranted nor was [he] entitled to entertain and adjudicate the PIL … We are not satisfied that there is any material which would entitle the original petitioner to similar or other direction from us … We, thus, allow all the appeals and set aside the impugned order issued on April 1, 2008, and dismiss the original writ petition. All appellants shall also be entitled to costs quantified at Rs 2,000 each to be paid by the original petitioner (Manak)”.

WHAT WAS OVERURNED

Justice Ranjit Singh of the Punjab & Haryana High Court had on April 1, 2008, directed the CBI to look into 10 murders and "encounters" after "physical torture at CIA Staff, Moga". The directions were issued on a petition by an erstwhile black cat commando, Satwant Singh Manak

In the plea, Manak had stated that the victims had been killed from "time to time" by police officer, including Bachan Singh Randhawa, Gurmej Singh, Darshan Singh, Dalwinder Singh, Hardial Singh, Gurdev Singh and Om Parkash. 

 

[Based on report by the Tribune. Edited for sikhchic.com]

November 30, 2013

Conversation about this article

1: Sunny Grewal (Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada), December 01, 2013, 1:09 PM.

There is no law in the jungle.

2: HS Vachoa (USA), December 02, 2013, 4:51 PM.

A state-protected glorification of mass-murder and genocide.

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