Supreme Court Moved Seeking Reconstitution of July 20 March Probe Panel
A petitioner has approached the Supreme Court seeking the reconstitution of a high-powered committee formed to probe alleged police excesses during the July 20 CJP march to Parliament in New Delhi, questioning the panel's independence.
Appearing for petitioner-advocate Shailendra Mani Tripathi on Tuesday, senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan informed a bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant that an application had been filed challenging the composition of the panel. The bench also includes Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana.
The Supreme Court had previously constituted the High-Powered Enquiry Committee headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice R Subhash Reddy. The panel also comprises former chief justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court Ravi S Jha, former Delhi High Court judge Shalinder Kaur, former CBI director Rishi Kumar Shukla, and former Meghalaya DGP L R Bishnoi.
In the application, Tripathi proposed that the panel should be chaired by a former Chief Justice of India, suggesting the names of retired CJIs U U Lalit, Sanjiv Khanna, or B R Gavai. The petitioner argued that information in the public domain indicated past associations between panel members and Union executive authorities, raising concerns of institutional deference.
Tripathi clarified that the challenge was not directed at the personal integrity of individual members, but addressed structural concerns regarding the mandate. The petitioner noted that the probe involves examining the role of officials in the Union executive, the Ministry of Home Affairs, Delhi Police, and the Rapid Action Force, requiring the committee to be visibly insulated from executive influence. Tripathi also claimed that the non-judicial members lacked specialised experience in probing police excesses.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta opposed the plea, terming it improper and questioning the move to seek reconstitution after the committee had already commenced its work. Advocate Prashant Bhushan also highlighted concerns over the committee's composition in court.
When contacted, former CJIs Sanjiv Khanna and B R Gavai stated they had neither been approached for consent nor given it. Justice Gavai added that it was improper to seek changes to the panel once constituted by the Supreme Court. Justice Lalit did not respond to queries.
