High Court junks Punjab ex-DGP Siddharth Chattopadhyaya’s report on top police officials
More than five years after Punjab’s former DGP Siddharth Chattopadhyaya filed a report in his “individual capacity” during a court-monitored probe into nexus between the law enforcement agencies and drug traffickers, the Punjab and Haryana High Court today junked the same.
Drugs case went beyond mandate
In 2017, HC ordered SIT to focus on Inspector Inderjit Singh’s complicity with then Moga SSP Raj Jit Singh to break police-drug trafficker nexus
But Siddharth Chattopadhyaya, as SIT head, started looking into role of other senior police officers and submitted report in his ‘individual capacity’
Bringing down the curtains on the cops-versus-cops case, the Division Bench of Justice GS Sandhawalia and Justice Harpreet Kaur Jeewan made it clear reliance upon the report submitted in individual capacity was not warranted. As such, making the report public and acting upon it was not required to be approved. The matter has its genesis in orders passed by the high court on November 28, 2017. Specific directions were issued to focus on Inspector Inderjit Singh’s complicity with then Moga SSP Raj Jit Singh to break the nexus between the law enforcement agencies and drug traffickers. The direction came after he was allegedly found in collusion with drug traffickers and was stated to be closely associated with Raj Jit Singh. But the SIT head started looking into the role of other senior police officers before submitting the contentious individual report.
The Bench asserted the focus of the investigation and the mandate at that point in time was only regarding the complicity of Inderjit Singh with Raj Jit Singh and not beyond. The three-member SIT, headed by Chattopadhyaya, never conducted any investigation jointly regarding task beyond what had been entrusted. As such, the conclusion arrived at by the SIT head in his separate report could safely be judged as “one beyond the mandate given by this court”. The Bench also vacated the stay on the investigation pertaining to Chattopadhyaya in a suicide case. The former DGP’s contention was that an SIT headed by IPG LK Yadav was looking into the matter and was harassing him. It was alleged the name of various officers had come to light. The officers named in his application were alleged to be the supervisory officers of the SIT members. The Bench asserted: “We are also of the view that the stay granted in favour of Chattopadhyaya at that point in time was only an interim measure adopted due to the impression given to the coordinate Bench that he was being hounded at that point in time by his seniors. Much water has now flown since the stay was granted….”
Disposing of the petition, the Bench concluded the individual report would continue to be kept in sealed cover in safe custody of the Registrar (Judicial) as part of the record. The earlier directions issued for the general public’s benefit would, at the same time, continue to be adhered to by the state.
The Bench also made it clear an application by former DGP Shashi Kant, on whose letter the suo motu case was initiated, for continuing with the security was not liable to be entertained since sufficient time had expired. It was for the state to take a call upon his security risk, which was a separate exercise to be conducted.
