CM abused senior officer: Amicus curiae

Saurabh Malik

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 22

The Chief Minister pulled up and abused Additional Chief Secretary Vijai Vardhan for speaking to the amicus curiae or the friend of the court in connection with the Murthal rape case.

This, and much more, was claimed by amicus curiae Anupam Gupta as the case came up for hearing before the Punjab and Haryana High Court this afternoon. Gupta’s claim came amidst his vociferous and stern objections to alleged attempts by the SIT to cloak from him the investigations in the case, even as the state counsel refused to confirm the factum of rape.

Responding to a pinpointed query by the Bench of Justice SS Saron and Sneh Prashar on whether the rape was committed, Additional Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta said on the state’s behalf, “At this stage, I would not like to comment”. Mehta added in response to another query that other investigations were also on.

At the very onset, Mehta said there were some developments. As the investigation was entering its final stages, the SIT in charge wanted to apprise the court on the developments “in camera”, indicating in-chamber proceedings.

He also expressed his reluctance to have the amicus inside the chamber during the interaction between the SIT in charge and the Bench. Dubbing it as unfair, Gupta launched a scathing attack by claiming it was an attempt to keep him out of the loop. It was a well-crafted strategy, as he had all along been critical of the investigating agency’s inaction.

Mehta, in turn, claimed that there were names and assurances, which could be revealed only to the Bench in the judges’ chamber. People were helping. Besides, there was a moral component.

Retorting, Gupta said moral issues were weighing on his mind as well, but he gave importance to larger public interest by revealing the names of his sources during the course of hearing.

Gupta then caused flutter in the court by claiming the Chief Minister pulled up and abused Vardhan after calling him up. At that time, Vardhan was in hospital looking after his ailing father, who died a few days later.

Mehta tried to play down the alleged incident by asserting the Chief Minister never abused. He added there were some reports from the forensic science laboratory and some recording of ladies’ voices, the details of which could be provided in form of a report in a sealed cover. The Bench could peruse the report and share it with the amicus if desired. The assertion led to another round of objections, with Gupta claiming that an amicus was never left out by any court anywhere in the country.

Gupta, on a previous date of hearing, had told the Bench that information on “witness” Amrik Singh deposing before Prakash Singh committee was given to him by a panel member.

The Bench was told that Sukhdev Dhaba owner had deposed before the panel that he saw a “rush of young and older women” with their clothes in shreds. Gupta had added the State Director General of Police KP Singh and Vardhan were also present at the time of Amrik Singh’s assertion.

Gupta said the member’s conscience did not permit him to sleep over the matter; and he through a senior officer tried to contact him. Later, the officer himself called him up to inform him of the deposition. Among other things, he said Amrik Singh told the panel that senior police officers “magically appeared” to escort the victims from Murthal after the incident.

Khattar never spoke to me: Vardhan

Regarding the statement reportedly made by Anupam Gupta, amicus curiae of Murthal gang rape case in the High Court, Vijai Vardhan, Additional Chief Secretary, Labour Department, said that Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar had never spoken or tried to influence him regarding the findings of the Prakash Singh Committee’s report. He denied having any conversation with Gupta regarding the same. Vardhan stated that the committee’s report had been uploaded on its official website by the state government and the statement of Amrik Singh, owner of Sukhdev Dhaba, Murthal, voluntarily made before the committee, finds mention in the chapter relating to Sonepat. Vardhan stated that it was extremely unfortunate that such a statement had been attributed to him especially since the Chief Minister had never spoken to him about this matter. TNS