Court not political battleground, HC tells Bajwa
Thursday, 24/09/2015
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CHANDIGARH: The Punjab and Haryana high court on Wednesday told Punjab Congress chief Partap Singh Bajwa to desist from making court a “political battleground” and categorically stated that his assistance in the Bhola drug racket case was not required.
During a hearing in the case, Bajwa’s counsel NS Boparai tried to intervene while the court was dictating an order and emphasising on the need for a CBI probe claiming that the state machinery had failed. As the court came to know about his client, the bench of justice Surya Kant and justice PB Bajanthri made it clear that it won’t entertain such petitions. Such pleas defeat the very purpose of public interest litigations, it observed. “We don’t need this kind of assistance from politicians and political parties. We know our job well…you have a battleground (among masses), concentrate there,” the high court bench said adding that it was being assisted by great lawyers and the court was not having any difficulty and authorities reluctance in dealing with the case was also not there.
The high court bench observed that there were other institutions where politicians could raise these issues.
“There are other pious institutions, represented by them. They can take up the matter there. It needs not to be taken up here,” the court said referring to state assemblies and Lok Sabha. Following high court pointed observations, Bajwa withdrew his plea seeking CBI probe into the Bhola drug racket case. The plea was filed in August.
“We would seek your assistance when required. But when you are representing a client, it is your primary duty to protect interests of your client. We were discussing something else and this is how then you disturbed us,” the high court bench observed.
