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Litigation blues: 3 years on, Jha probe panel fails to make headway
Was constituted in April 2016 by the BJP government in Haryana to probe the February 2016 agitation that left 30 people dead
The SN Jha Commission of Inquiry (CoI) constituted in April 2016 by the BJP government in Haryana to probe the February 2016 Jat quota violence that left 30 people dead has been given another retrospective extension by the state government.
The Haryana government on January 7 issued a notification to regularise the term of commission between October 8, 2019 and January 7, 2020 period.
The probe panel has not made any headway as far as the inquiry is concerned. Justice SN Jha, a former chief justice of Jammu and Kashmir High Court and Rajasthan High Court, who heads the two-member CoI, when asked where the commission stood in terms of probe progress, said a petition challenging the constitution of the panel was pending before the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
“The matter is subjudice and we cannot proceed further. We are waiting for the high court to issue directions,” Justice Jha said.
The petitioner, Virender Kumar, a close aide of former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, had filed a plea in the HC challenging the constitution of the CoI on the grounds that the same had been constituted to nullify the findings of the Prakash Singh Committee.
The petitioner had also submitted that during the pendency of investigation by the special investigating team (SIT) of the police, there was no necessity of setting up a commission as its entire proceedings were based on the FIR itself.
The Prakash Singh Committee constituted in February 2016 had indicted high-ranking officials of the police and state administration in its probe pertaining to the role of officers of civil administration and police during the Jat reservation agitation.
The HC case update
On January 7, 2020, the counsel for the petitioner had submitted before the HC bench of Justice Lisa Gill that he, along with the co-accused, have been discharged in a criminal case of looting, vandalism and arson (FIR number 101 of February 24, 2016) registered at Rohtak Civil Lines police station pertaining to the quota violence. The counsel for the petitioner also submitted that the term and tenure of the CoI had come to an end on January 7. The matter was adjourned for February 5.
CoI was supposed to submit report in 6 months
The state government had in 2016 appointed the two- member probe panel under the Commissions of Inquiry Act, 1952, headed by Justice (retd) SN Jha.
The other member of the panel is former IPS officer NC Padhi. The CoI was mandated to inquire into the sequence of events leading to the agitation and all facts and circumstances relating to the occurrence of violence leading to loss of lives, damage to properties — both private and public, including roads, canals, railway stations, police stations — and illegal felling of trees besides violation of human rights from February 18 to 23, 2016, in Rohtak, Jhajjar, Sonepat, Jind, Hisar, Kaithal and Bhiwani.
The commission was to also inquire into the existence of a deep-rooted conspiracy, if any, to damage the social fabric of the society and any such matter as may be found relevant in the course of the inquiry.
As per the terms and conditions, the commission was to submit its report to the state government not later than six months from the date of its first sitting.
