Jaipur: A petition has been filed in the Rajasthan High Court against the Vasundhara Raje government’s ordinance that seeks to shield serving and former judges, magistrates and public servants from being investigated for on-duty actions without prior sanction.
The plea asked the HC to declare the 'The Criminal Laws (Rajasthan Amendment) Ordinance, 2017’ as violative of the constitution. It says this new law would not only throttle the freedom of press but also “subvert the wisdom of judiciary.”
Advocate Ajay Jain, who is the primary petitioner, has contended that the amendment to Section 156 (3) and Section 197 of the Criminal Procedure Code which makes it necessary for a sanctioning authority to give permission for enquiries to be launched against current and former judges and public servants is “violative of Article-14, 19 and Article-21 of the Constitution and is further arbitrary and mala fide.”
The petitioner has submitted that the ordinance affects the Right to Life of an individual. “The ordinance takes away the fundamental rights of the petitioner of fair investigation as well as equality. Fair investigation is the part of fundamental right to life,” reads the petition.
The petitioner had earlier lodged an FIR against some senior government officials under various sections of the IPC, and with the help of 156(3) of CrPC action was taken against the officials. Now, he says such action would be difficult after this amendment.
“Despite many hurdles by the State Authorities ultimately cognizance was taken against the Senior Officials and matter went up to Hon'ble Supreme Court and were unable to get any substantial relief. If the amendment would have been there at that point of time, such big case of misuse of public property and breach of trust would have gone under the carpet,” reads the plea.
The plea also states that “by this ordinance, protective cover has been extended to every public servant even at pre-cognizance stage.”
“Protective cover cannot extend to every act or omission of every public servant since the constituency of public servant is so large that without classification every public servant cannot be included even in the protective cover of 197 CrPC. By this amendment the wisdom of judiciary has been subverted,” states the petitioner.
The plea also targets the curbs on freedom of press and has stated that the two years’ imprisonment for the anyone printing or publishing about a case which has not been sanctioned will amount to a violation of Article 19.
“Insertion of Section-228 of IPC is violative of fundamental right to know is a part of Article-19. The section is to save the identity of the alleged delinquents and further this provision travels beyond the boundaries of the state,” reads the plea.
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