The two-member Commission of Inquiry set up to look into false cases during past 10-years under the Akali-BJP regime, headed by Justice (Retd) Mehtab Singh Gill, on Sunday submitted its fourth interim report recommending action on 30 of the 112 more complaints examined.
Among the 30 cases, in which action has been recommended, is the case against Kotkapura journalist Naresh Kumar under various sections of Indian Penal Code (IPC). Citing his acquittal by the Faridkot judicial court, the Commission has recommended cancellation of FIR against the journalist.
Justice Gill, the former Acting Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, said that the Commission had recommended legal action against the complainant and the police officials who have registered a false case against Naresh Kumar “out of sheer political vendetta”.
The Congress-led Punjab Government had set up the Commission for detecting political vendetta and false implications in criminal cases registered during a decade-long rule of the SAD-BJP combine.
In its fourth report, the Commission has dismissed 82 complaints or cases on various grounds. The Commission, which has former District and Sessions Judge BS Mehndiratta as member, has now disposed of 563 of the total 4371 complaints received till July 31, 2017.
Some of the complaints were referred to the Commission by the Punjab and Haryana High Court. Subsequently, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has accepted the recommendations of the Commission and directed the state Home Department to take appropriate action.
The Commission had also referred cases for grant of compensation to the persons, who were targeted by the previous regime of political vendetta and now acquitted by the courts.
It may be recalled that the third interim report of the Commission, relating to 101 cases or complaints received by it across the state, had recommended cancellation of FIRs in a total of 12 cases, five of them after taking appropriate orders from the Court.
The Commission had also recommended action against two Investigation Officers (IOs) for their alleged biased role under the political influence.
In its second interim report, the Commission had found political vendetta involved in all the 47 cases identified by it as false. In that report, the Commission had recommended cancellation of FIRs in 37 of these cases, while in four cases it had suggested compensation to accused acquitted by courts. In the remaining six, it recommended other action, such as not to file challans in courts.
Earlier, it had submitted its first interim report in August recommending compensation in 130 cases after examining 172 complaints.
As the Commission has received huge number of complaints, it had sought an extension till October 5, next year, to look into all of them.
The term of the Commission, set up for six-month with an alternative to grant extension if needed, was to be ended on October 5 this year.
The panel contended that the number of cases before the Commission was enormous, and “in each and every case, evidence has to be recorded of both the parties and it is thereafter that after discussion a final decision has to be taken on complaints”.