KIRAN BEDT KIRAN BEDI JINDER SINGH JINDER SINGH Vs. COMMITTEE OF INQUIRY:COMMITTEE OF INQUIRY:COMMITTEE OF INQUIRY:COMMITTEE OF INQUIRY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In the writ petition and the special leave petitions filed by Smt. Kiran Bedi, the orders dated 17th, 20th and 23rd May 1988 passed by the Committee of Inquiry consisting of Mr. Justice N. N. Goswami and Mr. Justice D. P. Wadhwa of the High Court of Delhi (hereinafter referred to as the Committee) are sought to be quashed whereas in the writ petition and the S.L.P. filed by Jinder Singh the order dated 26th May, 1988 passed by the said Committee is sought to be quashed.

(2.) In order to appreciate the respective submissions made by learned counsel for the parties. it would be useful to give in brief the circumstances leading to the appointment of the Committee and also to quote the terms of reference. What ultimately assumed the shape of confrontation between lawyers and police sparked off from an alleged unfortunate incident on 15th January, 1988 of a lawyer being apprehended by the students of St. Stephens College, University of Delhi and being handed over to the police on the accusation of committing an offence within the campus of the said College. According to the statement of case filed before the Committee on behalf of the Delhi High Court Bar Association. the said lawyer was brought by the police in handcuffs for production before a Metropolitan Magistrate on 16th January. 1988. The lawyers present protested against the handcuffing but their protest was ignored by the police officials. The Metropolitan Magistrate ultimately discharged the lawyer on the same date and also directed the Commissioner of Police to take action against the guilty police officials. In support of their demand for action against the police officials. the lawyers went on strike from 18th January 1988. In the said statement of case it was further stated that on 20th January, 1988, Smt. Kiran Bedi, Deputy, Commissioner of Police. North District, Delhi made a statement in a press conference justifying the action of police and criticising the order of the Magistrate in discharging a thief and that in order to express their deep concern and anguish a group of lawyers went to meet Smt. Bedi on 21st January, 1988 in her office which at that time was situated in the Tis Hazari Court Complex itself. Smt. Bedi, however, refused to come out and meet the lawyers whereupon they preferred to wait upon her till such time as she agreed to meet them. They assert that while they had waited for 15-20 minutes the police took recourse to lathi charge on the lawyers at the orders of Smt. Bedi. In the said statement of case it has further been asserted that while the indefinite strike and the agitation of the lawyers demanding a judicial inquiry into the incident of lathi charge and suspension of Smt. Kiran Bedi was continuing, a mob which eventually swelled to about 3000 persons came to Tis Hazari Court Complex on 17th February 1988 raising slogans in support of Smt. Bedi and against the striking lawyers. The mob used brickbats and stones causing injury to some lawyers and damage to property. According to them this mob attack was engineered by Smt. Kiran Bedi. A statement of case was also filed by Ved Prakash Marwah. the then Commissioner of Police, attaching thereto affidavits of 25 police officers including an affidavit of Smt. Kiran Bedi. There is a denial on their part of the assertions and insinuations made against them by the Delhi Bar Association referred to above. With regard the incident of 21st January 1988 the case Smt. Kiran Bedi as is apparent from her affidavit filed along with the aforesaid statement of case is that she along with some other officers reached her Tis Hazari Office about 11. 15 a. m. and while a meeting was in progress in connection with the arrangements for the Republic Day some time around 12.00 noon, slogans were heard "being raised outside by an apparently large crowd approaching in our direction. Before we realised what was happening, all of a sudden a group of lawyers stormed into my office pushing aside the female constable on duty at my door. They rushed towards me making violent gestures and uttering obscenities at me. They made physical gesture and threats to the effect. The Police Officers who were sitting around my table jumped to their feet. They held back one of hysterical persons who had actually advanced in my direction and formed a ring around the lawyers and managed to move them out of my office while bolting me inside along with my female constable and a female visitor who had come to see me for her own work". We have thought it proper not to quote the actual words of threat stated in the said affidavit. According to Smt. Kiran Bedi the situation thereafter outside her office was handled by the other officers present while she remained inside the office.

(3.) We are not concerned with the correctness or otherwise of either of the two versions stated above and as already pointed out we have referred to them only to indicate the background in which the Committee was constituted. Having referred in brief to the circumstances which led to the appointment of the Committee we now quote the order of reference:-