The state government also informed the court that it will, in the meantime, submit its chargesheet in the suicide case “against other accused”.
THE PUNJAB and Haryana High Court Monday asked the DGP Siddharth Chattopadhyaya-led Special Investigation Team (SIT) to complete its probe into SSP Moga Raj Jit Singh’s alleged complicity with dismissed Inspector Inderjeet Singh – who was arrested by the Punjab STF last year in a drug haul case, and submit its final report by or on May 9 after the state government told the court that “something is bothering the state about the investigation.”
During the resumed hearing of Chattopadhyaya’s application seeking protection from the alleged harassment in Inderpreet Chada suicide case, a division bench of Justices Surya Kant and Shekher Dhawan also extended the stay on investigation against Chattopadhyaya till May 23. The state government also informed the court that it will, in the meantime, submit its chargesheet in the suicide case “against other accused”.
The division bench during the hearing observed that the officers are leaders of the police force and it would “impress upon” all the officers to maintain decorum, and at the same time asserted that it was duty-bound to address their grievances. The observation came in the backdrop of the controversy surrounding the top police officers of the state.
Advocate-General Atul Nanda told the court that he can provide the court names of five police officers who can probe the Indepreet Chada suicide case and the officers can directly report to the court. “They will be insulated from the police establishment,” he said.
When the division bench said that the probe can be monitored by a former judge of the High Court, Nanda submitted that, “whether it is an A officer or B officer, it is the state which loses. Institutions have to be kept intact. I do not want the loss of faith in the institution,’ The division bench responded that, “the state’s anxiety is appreciated. They (officers) are the assets of the state and you don’t want to lose them.”
During the hearing, Nanda also said “let no one demolish the institution” and said that there are certain things about the SIT probe which he cannot discuss in an open court. He sought an in-camera hearing before the bench in presence of the Senior Advocate Anupam Gupta and in absence of the DGP Chattopadhyaya.
“Something is bothering the state about the investigation,” Nanda said.
Inside the in-chamber hearing, it is learnt that the State has expressed its objection about the SIT “going beyond its mandate” in the probe against SSP Raj Jit and also expressed its concern over the allegations being leveled by police officers against each other in open. The order asking the SIT to submit its final report by May 9 was passed just after the in-camera hearing.
During the hearing in the open court after the in-camera proceedings, there was also a war of words between Nanda and Gupta after the latter mentioned something about the probes being conducted by Sidhu and Chattopadhyaya.
“I am very happy that my officers are sharing information with Mr. Gupta. I always thought that the investigations were confidential,” he quipped. “Would the AG expect me to believe that his officers like DGP do not share information with him (Nanda),” Gupta responded.