Congress MP Sachin Pilot has challenged the vires of the Criminal Laws (Rajasthan Amendment) Ordinance, 2017 in the Rajasthan High Court at Jaipur..Today, a Bench of Justices Ajay Rastogi and Deepak Maheshwari proceeded to issue notice to the central and state governments. The Court also directed that a copy of the order be served to state Advocate General Narpat Mal Lodha and Additional Solicitor General Rajdeepak Rastogi. The petition was argued by Rishabh Sancheti..The Ordinance, passed in September this year, seeks to amend sections 156(3) and 190 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, thereby preventing Magistrates from directing investigations into present and retired judges and public servants without prior sanction of the government. It also prevents the media from reporting on the same..Describing the Ordinance as the “anti-thesis of transparent, accountable and open democracy”, the petition contends that it is violative of various provisions of the Constitution, including Articles 14, 19 and 21..It also states that the Ordinance would do little in the way of alleviating corruption in the country..“…creates and unwarranted and arbitrary requirement of a mandatory prior sanction to initiate investigation against corrupt public servants and members of the judiciary without any rational and thus, stands in violation of Article 14.”.The petition also contends that the Executive would effectively be given immunity from the Judiciary..“This brings about a superiority of the Executive over the Judiciary, where the magisterial discretion vested under Sec. 156(3) is subverted by Executive whims.”.It also points that the Ordinance clearly violates the right to free speech by gagging the media..“…definite chilling effect on the right of free speech and expression. Within the bounds of law, it is the society’s right to know of the allegations against someone who is in a position of power and authority and form opinion accordingly.”.Today in Court, it was argued that the Ordinance was in clear violation of the Supreme Court judgments in Subramaniam Swamy v. Dr. Manhoman Singh and Anr and Lalita Kumari v. State of Uttar Pradesh..As reported earlier, Sachin Pilot is not the only to have challenged the Ordinance; a petition was filed earlier this week before the Jaipur Bench..In light of these petitions, as well as widespread criticism from multiple fronts, the Rajasthan government appears to have had a change of heart. The Ordinance – which was passed on September 7 – was required to be put to vote in the state Assembly, failing which, it would lapse in six weeks..And within 24 hours of being tabled in the Assembly, the Bill was put in “cold storage” by sending it to a Select Committee. This Committee is expected to submit its report on the Bill by the budget session of the assembly, held in February..Read the petition:.Read the order:.Image taken from here..Click here to download the Bar & Bench Android App
Congress MP Sachin Pilot has challenged the vires of the Criminal Laws (Rajasthan Amendment) Ordinance, 2017 in the Rajasthan High Court at Jaipur..Today, a Bench of Justices Ajay Rastogi and Deepak Maheshwari proceeded to issue notice to the central and state governments. The Court also directed that a copy of the order be served to state Advocate General Narpat Mal Lodha and Additional Solicitor General Rajdeepak Rastogi. The petition was argued by Rishabh Sancheti..The Ordinance, passed in September this year, seeks to amend sections 156(3) and 190 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, thereby preventing Magistrates from directing investigations into present and retired judges and public servants without prior sanction of the government. It also prevents the media from reporting on the same..Describing the Ordinance as the “anti-thesis of transparent, accountable and open democracy”, the petition contends that it is violative of various provisions of the Constitution, including Articles 14, 19 and 21..It also states that the Ordinance would do little in the way of alleviating corruption in the country..“…creates and unwarranted and arbitrary requirement of a mandatory prior sanction to initiate investigation against corrupt public servants and members of the judiciary without any rational and thus, stands in violation of Article 14.”.The petition also contends that the Executive would effectively be given immunity from the Judiciary..“This brings about a superiority of the Executive over the Judiciary, where the magisterial discretion vested under Sec. 156(3) is subverted by Executive whims.”.It also points that the Ordinance clearly violates the right to free speech by gagging the media..“…definite chilling effect on the right of free speech and expression. Within the bounds of law, it is the society’s right to know of the allegations against someone who is in a position of power and authority and form opinion accordingly.”.Today in Court, it was argued that the Ordinance was in clear violation of the Supreme Court judgments in Subramaniam Swamy v. Dr. Manhoman Singh and Anr and Lalita Kumari v. State of Uttar Pradesh..As reported earlier, Sachin Pilot is not the only to have challenged the Ordinance; a petition was filed earlier this week before the Jaipur Bench..In light of these petitions, as well as widespread criticism from multiple fronts, the Rajasthan government appears to have had a change of heart. The Ordinance – which was passed on September 7 – was required to be put to vote in the state Assembly, failing which, it would lapse in six weeks..And within 24 hours of being tabled in the Assembly, the Bill was put in “cold storage” by sending it to a Select Committee. This Committee is expected to submit its report on the Bill by the budget session of the assembly, held in February..Read the petition:.Read the order:.Image taken from here..Click here to download the Bar & Bench Android App
