Chandigarh, November 30: Taking serious note of AAP’s attempt to malign the judiciary with the help of a fabricated audio tape on one of the judges in the drugs case against Sukhpal Singh Khaira, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Wednesday urged the Chief Justice of the Punjab & Haryana High Court to take suo motu cognizance of the incident and initiate suitable action against the culprits.
Talking to mediapersons after Khaira created a ruckus in a desperate bid to prevent the House from passing a resolution moved by the government on the issue, the Chief Minister said any attempt to cast aspersions on the judiciary would be rejected by the people. The defence services and the judiciary were the two institutions in which the people had complete faith and any effort to denigrate them was intolerable, he added.
The Chief Minister said it was obvious that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had got the controversial tape, which alleged that the judge was “influenced and bribed”, maliciously created and released through their allies, the Bains brothers, to divert attention from the grave charges against Khaira.
Had AAP been serious about raising its concerns, or had there been even an iota of authenticity in the said tape, they would have gone to the Chief Justice before releasing the same, Captain Amarinder said. The manner in which the tape was released and then the matter sought to be raised with the Chief Justice shows that the allegations levied against the judge are totally bereft of any truth, he added.
The people have full faith in the judiciary and will not be diverted by such gimmicks, said Captain Amarinder, adding that such acts were unacceptable and the judiciary should take serious note of the issue and act on it.
Asked about the offensive language used, and personal attack launched against him by Khaira in the House, the Chief Minister said it exposed the petty and spiteful mindset of the leader of the Opposition in Punjab Vidhan Sabha, and his party, which obviously did not believe in upholding constitutional or parliamentary propriety. AAP’s repeated attempts to undermine the state assembly, which it had been persistently obstructing from conducting its legislative business in every session, showed the party’s totally unethical character. The unparliamentary and unconstitutional conduct of AAP MLAs in the House was symbolic of the party’s total absence of respect for all democratic institutions, he added.
AAP was now trying to extend the same lack of propriety and ethics to its approach towards the judiciary, said Captain Amarinder, adding that such unprincipled behaviour could not be tolerated in a democratic polity.
Earlier, the House passed the resolution deprecating the irresponsible and malevolent release, by Lok Insaaf Party (LIP) MLAs Simarjit Singh Bains and Balwinderjit Singh Bains, of the audio recording purported to be a conversation about payment of Rs. 35 lacs to a Judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in relation to a Revision Petition filed by Khaira.
The resolution was moved by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Brahm Mohindra on the last day of the third session of 15th Vidhan Sabha here on Wednesday. Brahm Mohindra said a fair and thorough probe was the need of the hour to ascertain the veracity of the entire episode.
The resolution read that “The House strongly condemns the wrongful involvement and scandalous allegations being made against the Hon’ble Judge which is clearly for political purpose and vested motives. The judiciary in India and its Hon’ble Judges are an irreplaceable pillar of democracy and merit our highest respect and deference.”
“The House urges the Hon’ble Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court to take suo-moto notice/cognizance of this incident and further action as required as the scandalous allegations amounts to nothing short of impairing the majesty of law, obstructing the administration of justice and lowering the image and dignity of the Court and its Hon’ble Judges in the eyes of public at large,” the resolution further said.
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