Full Judgment Text
REPORTABLE
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
CIVIL ORIGINAL JURISDICTION
WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) No. 13 OF 2022
| LAWYERS VOICE | …..PETITIONER(S) |
|---|---|
| VERSUS | |
| THE STATE OF PUNJAB & OTHERS … | ...RESPONDENT(S) |
ORDER
1. The present Writ Petition arises out of the incident dated
5.01.2022 wherein on a visit to Hussainiwala, District
Firozpur, State of Punjab the convoy of the Prime Minister was
stuck on a flyover for around 20 minutes.
2. Petitioner, an NGO which purports to work for advocates across
the country and takes up causes that are in public interest,
therefore, seeks that this Court take cognizance of the above
incident and has prayed for the following directions:
“(a) Take cognizance of the serious and deliberate
lapse on part of the Respondent Nos. 1,2 ad 3
Signature Not Verified
concerning the security and the movement of the Prime
Digitally signed by
Vishal Anand
Date: 2022.01.12
17:58:05 IST
Reason:
Minister of the country; and
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(b) Direct the learned District Judge, Bhatinda, to
collect all official documents and materials from all
possible sources pertaining to the movements and
deployment of Punjab Police in connection with the
visit at the earliest and produce the same before this
Hon’ble Court; and
(c) Issue a writ of mandamus or any other writ, order
or direction fixing responsibility of the Respondent
No. 2 and Respondent No. 3 and place them under
suspension and further direct the Respondent No. 4 to
initiate departmental action against the same;
(d) Please to issue any other writ or directions(s) or
orders(s) as the Hon’ble Court may deem fit and proper
in view of the facts and circumstances of the case and
in the interest of justice.”
3. Petitioner contends that the incident constitutes a very grave
security breach that could have had significant repercussions
as it impacts the safety of the Hon’ble Prime Minister.
Given the seriousness of the subject matter, and the need to
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ensure a thorough investigation into the alleged lapses by the
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security apparatus, we took up the matter on the 07 January,
2022 when we heard Mr. Maninder Singh, Senior Advocate on
behalf of the petitioner and Mr. Tushar Mehta, learned Solicitor
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General on behalf of Union of India and Mr. D.S. Patwalia,
learned Advocate General for the State of Punjab. This Court,
thus, passed the following order:
“1. Heard learned senior counsel Mr. Maninder Singh
on behalf of the Petitioner, the learned Solicitor
General, Mr. Tushar Mehta, and the learned Advocate
General for the State of Punjab, Mr. D.S. Patwalia.
2. Taking into consideration the arguments advanced
by the parties with respect to the issues relating to the
security of WP(C)No.13/2022 the Hon’ble Prime
Minister and other related issues raised by them, we
deem it appropriate for the time being to direct the
Registrar General, Punjab and Haryana High Court to
secure and preserve the records relating to the Hon’ble
Prime Minister’s scheduled tour of Punjab on 05th
January 2022.
3. We direct the Director General of Police, Union
Territory of Chandigarh and an officer of the National
Investigation Agency, not below the rank of Inspector
General, to be nominated by the Director General,
National Investigation Agency to assist the Registrar
General, Punjab and Haryana High Court to forthwith
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secure and seize the records from the State police as
well as Central agencies.
4. We further direct the State Government of Punjab,
including the police authorities, the Special Protection
Group and any other Central/State agencies to
cooperate and to provide necessary assistance in
securing and seizing the records.
5. We direct the Registrar General, Punjab and
Haryana High Court to keep the records in his safe
custody for the time being.
6. The Registry is directed to forward a copy of this
order electronically, forthwith, to the Registrar
General, Punjab and Haryana High Court, the Director
General of Police, Union Territory of Chandigarh, the
Director General, National Investigation Agency and
the Principal Secretary, Home, State of Punjab.
XXXXXX XXX”
In deference to the abovestated order, a compliance report has
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been submitted wherein it has been stated that the relevant
records have been received, seized, and secured. The same
have been sealed and placed in the custody of the Punjab and
Haryana High Court.
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6. On the previous date of hearing, it was also brought to our
notice that the State of Punjab has constituted a Committee to
carry out a thorough probe into the lapses that occurred
during the Firozpur visit of the Hon’ble Prime Minister. The
Committee comprised of a Former Judge of the Punjab and
Haryana High Court and Principal Secretary, Home Affairs and
Justice, Government of Punjab. It was urged on behalf of
learned Senior Counsel for the petitioner that since lapses in
the breach of security of the Hon’ble Prime Minister are being
seriously attributed to the authorities of the State of Punjab,
the constitution of an Enquiry Committee by the State was
nothing but an abortive attempt to become a Judge in its own
cause.
7. The State of Punjab, on the other hand, has placed on record
copies of the show cause notices issued by the Government of
India, Ministry of Home Affairs, Internal SecurityI Division
dated January 06, 2022 to various functionaries of the State of
Punjab including its Chief Secretary and Director General of
Police. The show cause notices required the officers to respond
within 24 hours as to why disciplinary action under the All
India Services (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 1969 should not
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be initiated against them for their “ omissions and
commissions ”. The learned Advocate General for the State of
Punjab urged that the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of
India has, in a way, already held the officers of Government of
Punjab ‘guilty’ of the alleged negligence and/or breach of
security of the Hon’ble Prime Minister. He maintained that
none of the agencies of the State Government had committed a
dereliction of their responsibility for the security and safety of
the Hon’ble Prime Minister, yet there is a smear campaign to
discredit the State Government. All the same, the learned
Advocate General for the State fairly offered that the State is
more than willing to have an independent enquiry of the
matter.
8. We have heard learned counsel for the parties at considerable
length and studied the provisions of the Special Protection
Group Act, 1988 (for short, “the Act”) along with the relevant
contents of the Blue Book. The legislative scheme of the Act is
quite comprehensive with respect to ensuring proximate
security of the Prime Minister, or a former Prime Minister, or
their family members, as the case may be. The Blue Book
contains an unambiguous and detailed procedure to be
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observed by the State Authorities and the Special Protection
Group (for short, “SPG”) to ensure full safety and security of
the Prime Minister while he is touring a State. The additional
object is to avoid any human error, negligence or any willful
omission or commission which may hamper and/or expose the
safety and security of the Executive Head of the nation while he
is traveling in a particular State. Any lapse in this regard can
lead to devastating and serious consequences.
9. It is not necessary for us to elucidate more on facts as the lapse
regarding the breach of security of the Prime Minister during
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his visit to Firozpur on 5 January, 2022 is not seriously
disputed by either party. There is, however, a blame game
between the State and Central Government as to who is
responsible for such lapses. War of words between them is no
solution. It may rather impair the need of a robust mechanism
to respond at such a critical juncture.
10. We, therefore, find merit in the submission of Shri Maninder
Singh, learned Senior Counsel for the petitioner that not only
are the Officer(s)/Authority responsible for the abovestated
lapse liable to be identified , but there is also a greater urgency
to evolve new measures that may ensure there is no recurrence
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of such lapses in the future.
11. The learned Solicitor General appearing for the Union of India,
supported the submission of the Petitioner and prayed for a
detailed independent enquiry. The learned Advocate General for
the State of Punjab also fairly expressed his willingness for an
independent enquiry ordered by this Court.
12. Keeping the above submissions made by the parties in view, we
are of the considered opinion that these questions cannot be
left to be resolved through onesided enquiries. A judicially
trained independent mind, duly assisted by officers who are
well acquainted with the security considerations and the
Registrar General of the High Court who has seized the record
pursuant to our earlier order, would be best placed to
effectively visit all issues and submit a comprehensive report
for the consideration of this Court.
We therefore deem it appropriate to appoint an Enquiry
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Committee comprising the following:
i. Justice Indu Malhotra, a former Judge of the Supreme
Court of India Chairperson ;
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ii. Director General or his nominee not below the rank of
Inspector General of Police of National Investigation
Agency Member ;
iii. Director General of Police, Union Territory of
Chandigarh Member ;
iv. Additional Director General of Police (Security), State of
Punjab Member ;
v. Registrar General, Punjab and Haryana High Court
MembercumCoordinator .
The following are the Terms of Reference for the Enquiry
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Committee:
i. What were the causes for the security breach for the
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incident on 5 January 2022?
ii. Who are responsible for such a breach, and to what
extent?
iii. What should be the remedial measures or safeguards
necessary for the security of the Hon’ble Prime Minister
or other Protectees?
iv. Any suggestions or recommendations for improving the
safety and security of other Constitutional
functionaries.
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v. Any other incidental issue that the Committee may
deem fit and proper.
15. The Enquiry Committee is requested to submit its report at
the earliest.
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16. Let the entire record seized pursuant to our order dated 7
January, 2022, be handed over to the Chairperson of the
Enquiry Committee within three days. The Union of India and
State Government are directed to provide full assistance to the
Enquiry Committee for completion of the assigned task.
The Chairperson of the Enquiry Committee shall be entitled to
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all the perks of a sitting Supreme Court Judge minus pension.
They shall be provided full secretarial assistance, official car
and other paraphernalia for effective completion of the enquiry,
as directed above.
18. Till conclusion of the proceedings of the Enquiry Committee
constituted above, the enquiries ordered by the Central
Government and the State Government shall be kept in
abeyance.
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19. List the matter after receipt of the Report of the Enquiry
Committee.
..……………………..CJI
(N.V. RAMANA)
.……………………….. J
(SURYA KANT)
.……………………….. J
(HIMA KOHLI)
New Delhi;
Dated: January 12, 2022
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