High Court To CBI: 'Can You Take Over Munak Canal Case That Has National Security Implication? Haryana Police Have Failed'

Noting the Haryana Police’s continuous failure to probe the mass violence cases during the February 2016 Jat agitation, the Punjab & Haryana High Court once again on Thursday told the Haryana government that they would get the cases probed by “any other police” or the CBI. 

The Amicus Curiae — senior advocate Anupam Gupta — said the destruction of a canal was a matter of national security and recommended that the court ask National Security Adviser Ajit Kumar Doval to suggest an agency or officers who were fit to probe the 2016 Jat agitation violence.

While hearing the case during the day-long hearing, a bench led by Justice SS Saron, noted that the police appeared unwilling to pursue the investigation with seriousness and said the probe was dead.

On the canal issue, the High Court has asked the CBI counsel to seek instructions if the CBI was willing to take over the Munak Canal damage case since it involved 'national security’.

The court made scathing observations about how the “Haryana police had degraded itself” and it would get the case handed over to the CBI or any other police force.

Gupta favoured a probe by the national probe agency and told the High Court that it had national security implications. 

“Munak canal case is a matter of extreme national security. Tomorrow, if there is a war between India and Pakistan, what the agitators did will be exploited by Pakistan. Let this case be handed over to CBI,” Gupta told the bench hearing the case.

Jat agitators had laid siege to the Munak canal during the protests for reservation. The 100-km-long canal supplies around 60 percent of Delhi’s tap water from the Yamuna and it took more than a fortnight to restore it after the agitation was called off following a flag march by the army to restore law and order.

“The Haryana government is putting the entire country and population to risk. Pakistan is just a few hundred km away and such non-serious behaviour regarding nationals assets is shameful and shocking,” remarked advocate Utsav Singh Bains, who represents a witness in the sexual assault cases that took place near Murthal during last year’s agitation.

The High Court has been monitoring the cases of violence in a suo motu PIL . This includes assault, damage to property and homicides. The court has also instituted a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the mass sexual assault cases. The SIT has been unable to locate the sexual assault survivors despite witnesses who have deposed witnessing a part of the said assaults.

"You say something in court and do something else on ground,” the bench told the Haryana govt counsel on Thursday. 

The comments were made regarding 81% cases of violence during the Jat reservation agitations hitting a dead end.

A newspaper recently reported that “Haryana police had prepared ‘untraced’ reports beforehand in 81% of the 1,084 cases regarding violence in the 2016 Jat agitation… .”

The analysis of 1084 reports filed in Rohtak district found that the police were unable to solve 833 of them. In most of these, the police filed ‘untraced’ reports and many had been filed by September 3, indicating that the police had ended the probes earlier than expected.

The HC questioned why these had been filed by then

Outlook’s own ground reports had found that a number of shops and business that were gutted or vandalised belonged to non-Jat communities. 

It appears that the court has accepted these reports because it commented that the investigations were “dead and not going anywhere” into incidents of “…women being gangraped and anarchy…”.

Gupta observed a compromise within the government for officers who failed their duties during the incidents of violence in their jurisdiction.

“All officers who stayed mute spectators to riots in Haryana and were indicted by Prakash Singh report ought to be dismissed under Article 311 of the constitution,” senior advocate Anupam Gupta told the court in his capacity as amicus curiae.

Most recently, the Haryana government restored three suspended civil service officers, Pankaj Setia, Dharmendra Singh and Jagdeep Singh who, during last year’s agitation, were posted as the sub-divisional magistrates at Jhajjar, Gohana and Hansi respectively.

Gupta further informed that court that “The Prakash Singh committee report has been turned into a black hole by the Haryana Govt. Prakash Singh report treats all cases of rioting as serious but today Govt's report says none are serious.”

“Prakash Singh is ready to assist this court and let the DGP be summoned. All officers mentioned as villains by Prakash Singh are being reinstated by Government. Out of 1200 cases only 30 cases are serious and 81% cases are being closed,” Gupta told the High Court.

This appeared to have shocked the judges who questioned the state. 

“Are you diluting investigation to such an extent?” the bench questioned the government counsel.

“Where CCTV footage is available, why have you not arrested the accused?” asked the bench.

It was pointed out that around 30 Haryana roadways’ buses had been set ablaze during the agitation.

The bench has made these observations several time and has, in the past, indicated that it is on the brink of passing on the probe to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

The central agency has earlier said in court that it has a manpower shortage in the Chandigarh office. This means that the CBI headquarters in New Delhi would have to spruce it up and depute investigators and support personnel for the massive probe that is required. If only for the Munak Canal case, a very large deputation of personnel may not be required.