Shortly before the Supreme Court on Monday took up a petition seeking a probe into the breach of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s security in Punjab, some lawyers of the top court complained of receiving pre-recorded messages from a number registered outside India, claiming responsibility for blocking PM’s cavalcade near Punjab Ferozpur and warning the court against going anything that will help the government, reported The Indian Express.
According to Advocate Nishant Katneswarkar, formerly standing counsel of Maharashtra in the apex court, the call came from a number that on display showed it was being made from the UK. Later in the day, the Supreme Court Advocates on Record Association (SCAORA) wrote to the Secretary General of the court, bringing the matter to his attention.
“Several Advocates on Record received an anonymous, automated, pre-recorded call… fastening responsibility for Prime Minister Modi’s security breach during his visit to Punjab on 05.01.2022 on Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) from USA,” The Indian Express quoted the letter as saying.
“It was stated that SFJ is responsible for blocking PM Modi’s cavalcade at Hussainwala flyover in Punjab. The caller further warned the Hon’ble Supreme Court judges to refrain from hearing the public interest litigation filed by an NGO, Lawyers Voice, seeking probe into the security breach on the ground that the Hon’ble Supreme Court has not been able to punish the culprits of the 1984-anti-Sikh riots,” the letter read.
The SCAORA sought immediate action, saying this amounted to violation of privacy of the Advocates on Record as their registered mobile numbers are out in public domain and have been compromised.
Deepak Prakash, an Advocate on Record, also lodged a criminal complaint with the Delhi Police Commissioner in this connection. The letter said the “callers have claimed themselves to be a group from the United Kingdom and are calling from untraceable numbers…”.
On Monday, the Supreme Court stayed the ongoing inquiries by two separate panels of the Centre and the Punjab government into the security breach during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to Punjab, and said that it will set up a committee headed by a former apex court judge to probe it.
On January 5, the prime minister’s convoy was stranded on a flyover due to a blockade by protesters in Ferozepur after which he returned from poll-bound Punjab without attending any event, including a rally.
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