'Court Cannot Provide Panacea For All Ills' : Supreme Court Refuses To Entertain Plea Seeking Action Against Politician-Criminal Nexus Based On Vohra Committee Report

The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed as withdrawn a plea which sought for acting on the recommendations of the Vohra Committee Report of 1993 on the nexus between criminals and politicians."The Court cannot provide panacea for all ills", orally remarked Justice S K Kaul, the presiding judge of the bench.The bench, also comprising Justices Dinesh Maheshwari and Hrishikesh Roy, granted liberty to the petitioner Ashwini Upadhyay to approach the Law Commission of India after noting that the prayers in the plea were utopian in nature and, therefore, could not be granted. The petitioner had sought action on the report submitted by former Union Home Secretary N N Vohra in 1993 exposing the nexus between politicians, criminal and bureaucrats. In today's hearing, Senior Advocate Anupam Lal Das submitted arguments on behalf of the Petitioner. However, the Court was not inclined to hear the same. The Bench noted that in 1997, a judgment had been rendered by the Supreme Court wherein directions had been given to the Centre to take steps to prosecute the accused referred to in the Vohra Report. However, the petitioner submitted that not a single person had been prosecuted. "What is the date of the judgment? 1997. 23 years have gone by. Can you think of anybody who will have confidence in a society like ours today? These are all utopian situations and utopia does not exist", observed Justice Kaul. Das informed the Bench that "baby steps" were being taken and that there existed a need for oversight from an investigating agency as Lokpal did not possess the wherewithal. To this, Justice Kaul responded, "Look at the prayers. I hope this world will be a wonderful place. I hope every man will live happily – these are the prayers! Write a book on it, not a petition. I don't encourage this.One can understand giving a nudge to the Centre but I cannot encourage petitions like these.The petition must serve a purpose; one should understand what directions can be given to the Centre". On this note, the plea was dismissed as withdrawn. The Petitioner has been granted the liberty to approach the Law Commission of India. The plea filed by BJP leader and Advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay sought for directions to the Centre to hand over the 1993 Vohra Committee Report to Central agencies such as National Investigation Agency (NIA), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Enforcement Directorate (ED), Intelligence Bureau (IB) and the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO), for a comprehensive probe into the nexus between criminals and politicians. "Citizens have right to be informed not only of the contents of report, but also of the details of the reports, notes, letters and other forms of evidence that was placed for consideration. It is axiomatic that citizens have a right to know about affairs of the State which, having been elected by them, seeks to formulate sound policies of governance aimed at their welfare". The petition goes on to state that the Vohra Committee Report revealed an alarming and disturbing trend that has been prevalent in society – the nexus between politicians, bureaucrats and criminal elements in society. This Report, it was submitted, recommended for a Nodal Agency to be set up to which all intelligence and enforcement agencies, irrespective of the department under which they are located shall promptly pass on information relating to crime syndicats. Directions to empower the Lokpal to be able to exercise statutory powers under the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and to declare that it would be able to prosecute politicians, bureaucrats, and criminals on the basis of evidence collected for offences under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) had also been sought.Click Here To Download Petition[Read Petition] Click Here To Download Order [Read Order]

'Court Cannot Provide Panacea For All Ills' : Supreme Court Refuses To Entertain Plea Seeking Action Against Politician-Criminal Nexus Based On Vohra Committee Report

Radhika Roy

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