Government opposes use of parliamentary reports as evidence in court cases

NEW DELHI: The Union government on Thursday opposed use of parliamentary panel reports in court proceedings, arguiging such reports should not be used as evidence in a court of law.

“The committee reports are at best external aids of construction in order to determine the surrounding circumstances or the historical facts for the purpose of discerning the mischief sought to be remedied,” an affidavit filed by the attorney general said.

A five-judge bench, led by Chief Justice Dipak Misra, is hearing the vexatious issue of whether such reports can be used in court proceedings.

Appearing for some pharma companies, which have been indicted in a parliamentary committee report for conducting trials of the controversial HPV vaccine, senior advocate Harish N Salve argued that though the court can look at the reports if they contain generic information, any specific charge against any individual or company cannot be invoked in a court of law.

“A lot of wrong has taken place,” Salve argued, alluding to instances in which companies such as Reliance have faced the wrong end of the stick over such reports. “Anything that can be impeached or contested should not be used,” he said.

He also spoke of the draft CAG reports and the final CAG reports which were at extreme variance in this context. However, the bench stopped him from referring to CAG reports in this context. “The 2G case is based on a CAG report,” Justice Misra observed.

Further arguments in the case will continue tomorrow.