CHANDIGARH, India, April 5, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Voices For Freedom (VFF) filed a public interest litigation (PIL) yesterday asking the Punjab and Haryana High Court for directions to quash the appointment of Panjab Director General of Police (DGP), Sumedh Saini, on grounds that his appointment was unlawful. The High Court has adjourned the hearing to April 17th for VFF to show that it has the locus standi to raise this issue.
"VFF filed a petition seeking a writ of certiorari to quash Sumedh Saini's appointment and we have also sought a writ of mandamus directing an enquiry against the concerned persons who have withheld material records about the DGP," said Director for VFF (Asia), High Court advocate, Simranjit Singh, who filed the petition.
VFF argued in its petition that Sumedh Saini's appointment is in clear violation of the directives of the Supreme Court of India which were issued in two cases: Narain and Ors. vs. Union of India and Prakash Singh vs Union of India. The petition also argued that Sumedh Saini's appointment also violates the spirit of the Punjab Police Act 2007.
"Sumedh Saini's appointment has been publically criticised by various human rights organizations & media, to no avail. VFF filed the petition because it was in the public interest to do so and this issue is connected with our work against human rights violations in Panjab," said the General Legal Counsel for VFF, Gurvinder Singh Sidhu. VFF has published a two volume report on about 900 disappearances cases in Panjab, titled 'Smoldering Embers'.
VFF's petition stated that when Sumedh Saini was appointed as the DGP of Panjab on 14 March 2012, he was facing a criminal trial for serious offences before the Special CBI Court in New Delhi, including the abduction and death of three persons in 1994 for which the trial is still pending.
"We asked in our petition, how could someone who has a serious criminal trial pending be a fit and proper person to head the police force of Panjab? Further, would his trial not affect the institutional competence of his duty as a DGP?" Gurvinder Singh said.
VFF also referred to the recent decision of the Karnataka High Court that had set aside the appointment of the state DGP.
Simranjit Singh
Director
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SOURCE VFF
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