LAWYERS VOICE versus THE STATE OF PUNJAB & OTHERS on 12 January 2022

ORDER

1. The present Writ Petition arises out of the incident dated5.01.2022 wherein on a visit to Hussainiwala, District Firozpur, State ofPunjab the convoy of the Prime Minister was stuck on a flyover foraround 20 minutes.

2. Petitioner, an NGO which purports to work for advocates acrossthe country and takes up causes that are in public interest, therefore,seeks that this Court take cognizance of the above incident and hasprayed for the following directions:

“(a) Take cognizance of the serious and deliberate lapse onpart of the Respondent Nos. 1,2 ad 3 concerning the securityand the movement of the Prime Minister of the country; and

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(b) Direct the learned District Judge, Bhatinda, to collect allofficial documents and materials from all possible sourcespertaining to the movements and deployment of Punjab Policein connection with the visit at the earliest and produce thesame before this Hon’ble Court; and A

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(c) Issue a writ of mandamus or any other writ, order ordirection fixing responsibility of the Respondent No. 2 andRespondent No. 3 and place them under suspension andfurther direct the Respondent No. 4 to initiate departmentalaction against the same; C

(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 thefacts and circumstances of the case and in the interest ofjustice.”

3. Petitioner contends that the incident constitutes a very graveDsecurity breach that could have had significant repercussions as it impactsthe safety of the Hon’ble Prime Minister.

4. Given the seriousness of the subject matter, and the need toensure a thorough investigation into the alleged lapses by the securityapparatus, we took up the matter on the 07[th] January, 2022 when weEheard Mr. Maninder Singh, Senior Advocate on behalf of the petitionerand Mr. Tushar Mehta, learned Solicitor General on behalf of Union ofIndia and Mr. D.S. Patwalia, learned Advocate General for the State ofPunjab. This Court, thus, passed the following order:

“1. Heard learned senior counsel Mr. Maninder Singh onFbehalf of the Petitioner, the learned Solicitor General, Mr.Tushar Mehta, and the learned Advocate General for the Stateof Punjab, Mr. D.S. Patwalia.

2. Taking into consideration the arguments advanced by theparties with respect to the issues relating to the security ofGWP(C)No.13/2022 the Hon’ble Prime Minister and otherrelated issues raised by them, we deem it appropriate for thetime being to direct the Registrar General, Punjab andHaryana High Court to secure and preserve the recordsrelating to the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s scheduled tour ofPunjab on 05th January 2022.

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3. We direct the Director General of Police, Union Territoryof Chandigarh and an officer of the National InvestigationAgency, not below the rank of Inspector General, to benominated by the Director General, National InvestigationAgency to assist the Registrar General, Punjab and HaryanaHigh Court to forthwith secure and seize the records from theState police as well as Central agencies.

4. We further direct the State Government of Punjab, includingthe police authorities, the Special Protection Group and anyother Central/State agencies to cooperate and to providenecessary assistance in securing and seizing the records.

5. We direct the Registrar General, Punjab and Haryana HighCourt to keep the records in his safe custody for the timebeing.

6. The Registry is directed to forward a copy of this orderelectronically, forthwith, to the Registrar General, Punjab andHaryana High Court, the Director General of Police, UnionTerritory of Chandigarh, the Director General, NationalInvestigation Agency and the Principal Secretary, Home, Stateof Punjab.

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5. Indeference to the above-stated order, a compliance report hasbeen submitted wherein it has been stated that the relevant records havebeen received, seized, and secured. The same have been sealed andplaced in the custody of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

6. On the previous date of hearing, it was also brought to ournotice that the State of Punjab has constituted a Committee to carry outa thorough probe into the lapses that occurred during the Firozpur visitof the Hon’ble Prime Minister. The Committee comprised of a FormerJudge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court and Principal Secretary,Home Affairs and Justice, Government of Punjab. It was urged on behalfof learned Senior Counsel for the petitioner that since lapses in the breachof security of the Hon’ble Prime Minister are being seriously attributedto the authorities of the State of Punjab, the constitution of an EnquiryCommittee by the State was nothing but an abortive attempt to becomea Judge in its own cause.

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A7. The State of Punjab, on the other hand, has placed on recordcopies of the show cause notices issued by the Government of India,Ministry of Home Affairs, Internal Security-I Division dated January 06,2022 to various functionaries of the State of Punjab including its ChiefSecretary and Director General of Police. The show cause noticesrequired the officers to respond within 24 hours as to why disciplinaryBaction under the All India Services (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 1969should not be initiated against them for their “omissions andcommissions”. The learned Advocate General for the State of Punjaburged that the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India has, in away, already held the officers of Government of Punjab ‘guilty’ of theCalleged negligence and/or breach of security of the Hon’ble PrimeMinister. He maintained that none of the agencies of the StateGovernment had committed a dereliction of their responsibility for thesecurity and safety of the Hon’ble Prime Minister, yet there is a smearcampaign to discredit the State Government. All the same, the learnedAdvocate General for the State fairly offered that the State is more thanDwilling to have an independent enquiry of the matter.

8. We have heard learned counsel for the parties at considerablelength and studied the provisions of the Special Protection Group Act,1988 (for short, “the Act”) along with the relevant contents of the BlueBook. The legislative scheme of the Act is quite comprehensive withErespect to ensuring proximate security of the Prime Minister, or a formerPrime Minister, or their family members, as the case may be. The BlueBook contains an unambiguous and detailed procedure to be observedby the State Authorities and the Special Protection Group (for short,“SPG”) to ensure full safety and security of the Prime Minister while he

Fis touring a State. The additional object is to avoid any human error,negligence or any willful omission or commission which may hamperand/or expose the safety and security of the Executive Head of thenation while he is traveling in a particular State. Any lapse in this regardcan lead to devastating and serious consequences.

G9. It is not necessary for us to elucidate more on facts as thelapse regarding the breach of security of the Prime Minister during hisvisit to Firozpur on 5[th] January, 2022 is not seriously disputed by eitherparty. There is, however, a blame game between the State and CentralGovernment as to who is responsible for such lapses. War of wordsbetween them is no solution. It may rather impair the need of a robustHmechanism to respond at such a critical juncture.

10. We, therefore, find merit in the submission of Shri ManinderSingh, learned Senior Counsel for the petitioner that not only are theOfficer(s)/Authority responsible for the above-stated lapse liable to beidentified, but there is also a greater urgency to evolve new measuresthat may ensure there is no recurrence of such lapses in the future.

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11. The learned Solicitor General appearing for the Union of India,supported the submission of the Petitioner and prayed for a detailedindependent enquiry. The learned Advocate General for the State ofPunjab also fairly expressed his willingness for an independent enquiryordered by this Court.

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12. Keeping the above submissions made by the parties in view,we are of the considered opinion that these questions cannot be left tobe resolved through one-sided enquiries. A judicially trained independentmind, duly assisted by officers who are well acquainted with the securityconsiderations and the Registrar General of the High Court who hasseized the record pursuant to our earlier order, would be best placed toeffectively visit all issues and submit a comprehensive report for theconsideration of this Court.

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13. We therefore deem it appropriate to appoint an EnquiryCommittee comprising the following:

i.Justice Indu Malhotra, a former Judge of the SupremeCourt of India- Chairperson; E

ii.Director General or his nominee not below the rank ofInspectorGeneral of Police of National InvestigationAgency- Member; iii.Director General of Police, Union Territory of Chandigarh-FMember;

iv.Additional Director General of Police (Security), State ofPunjab- Member;

v.Registrar General, Punjab and Haryana High Court-Member-cum-Coordinator.14. The following are the Terms of Reference for the EnquiryCommittee:

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i.What were the causes for the security breach for theincident on 5[th] January 2022?

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Aii.Who are responsible for such a breach, and to what extent?iii.What should be the remedial measures or safeguardsnecessary for the security of the Hon’ble Prime Ministeror other Protectees?

iv.Any suggestions or recommendations for improving theBsafety and security of other Constitutional functionaries.

v.Any other incidental issue that the Committee may deemfit and proper.

15. The Enquiry Committee is requested to submit its report atthe earliest.C

16. Let the entire record seized pursuant to our order dated 7[th]January, 2022, be handed over to the Chairperson of the EnquiryCommittee within three days. The Union of India and State Governmentare directed to provide full assistance to the Enquiry Committee forDcompletion of the assigned task.

17. The Chairperson of the Enquiry Committee shall be entitled toall the perks of a sitting Supreme Court Judge minus pension. They shallbe provided full secretarial assistance, official car and other paraphernaliafor effective completion of the enquiry, as directed above.

E18. Till conclusion of the proceedings of the Enquiry Committeeconstituted above, the enquiries ordered by the Central Government andthe State Government shall be kept in abeyance.

19. List the matter after receipt of the Report of the EnquiryCommittee.

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Ankit Gyan

Directions issued.

(Assisted by : Aarsh Choudhary, LCRA)

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