TMI Blog1993 (7) TMI 350X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... + Ed.: R.S. Sodhi v. State of U.P., 1994 Supp (1) SCC 143. See also the preliminary order of the Court dated 21-8-1991 at 1994 Supp (1) SCC 142 stated as 'encounters' between the Punjab Militants and the Local Police. The Times of India highlighted the incident on the basis whereof Shri R.S. Sodhi, an advocate practicing in this Court, filed a writ petition under Article 32 of the Constitution alleging infringement of Article 21 and related provisions. The issue figured in the Parliament and two teams of MPs belonging to the Congress (1) and the BJP rushed to the spot for an on-the-spot assessment. Their reports were placed on the record of the proceedings along with the report of the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Pilibhit. ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... vernment was intended. This Court merely acted in public interest. 3. After this order when the CBI authorities approached the local police as well as officers in the Home Department of the State Government, they did not receive the desired cooperation and the case papers were not handed over to them. This was communicated to this Court. After inquiring into the matter another order was passed on January 11, 1993, directing the Home Secretary, U.P., to take immediate steps to ensure compliance with the order dated May 15, 1992. Direction was also issued to the then DGP, U.P., Shri Prakash Singh, IPS and Secretary, Home, U.P., Shri Prabhat Kumar, IAS to show cause why action for their failure to comply with this Court's order of May 1 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ndatory provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The basis of the writ petition is an order dated March 10, 1989 of this Court in Writ Petition Nos. 531-36 of 1988, Haryana Mahila Sanghathan v. Union of India wherein the Division Bench of this Court referred the question whether the Court can order the CBI to investigate an alleged offence without the consent and orders of the concerned State Government to a larger Bench, preferably a Bench comprising of five Judges of this Court. The petitioner, therefore, contends that since this issue was awaiting decision by a larger Bench this Court could not have passed the order dated May 15, 1992+. 5. In the first place it is difficult to appreciate what public interest the petition seeks to ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the implementation of the order dated May 15, 1992. In fact such successive attempts on the part of the U.P. Police only strengthens the suspicion calling for an independent investigation. Thus the writ petition is untenable on this preliminary ground. 6. True it is, that a Division Bench of this Court made an order on March 10, 1989 referring the question whether a court can order the CBI, an establishment under the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, to investigate a cognizable offence committed within a State without the consent of that State Government or without any notification or order having been issued in that behalf. In our view, merely because the issue is referred to a larger Bench everything does not grind to a halt. The ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... n the Apex Court only and the exercise of that power is not dependent or conditioned by any statutory provision. The constitutional plenitude of the powers of the Apex Court is to ensure due and proper administration of justice and is intended to be co-extensive in each case with the needs of justice of a given case and to meeting any exigency. Very wide powers have been conferred on this Court for due and proper administration of justice and whenever the Court sees that the demand of justice warrants exercise of such powers, it will reach out to ensure that justice is done by resorting to this extraordinary power conferred to meet precisely such a situation. True it is, that the power must be exercised sparingly for furthering the ends of ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ny offence committed within the territorial jurisdiction of a State Government. That may be a statutory obligation governing the relations between the Central Government and the State Government but it cannot control this Court's power under Article 142(1). In both the aforesaid cases reference was made to the decision in A.R. Antulay v. R.S. Nayak3 and it was distinguished by pointing out that the violation of constitutional provisions and constitutional rights was in issue. Here as pointed out earlier no such right is infringed. Besides the decision in that case turned on its peculiar facts. The statute does not prohibit investigation by CBI but only requires certain formalities to be completed which have no relevance when the Apex Co ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
|
