Standoff over sealed cover report: Ex-Punjab DGP Chattopadhyaya seeks time from HC to file reply

Former Punjab director general of police (DGP) Siddharth Chattopadhyaya has sought time to file reply from the Punjab and Haryana high court on pleas demanding that sealed cover report on role of cops in drugs probe case submitted by him not be made public

Chandigarh : Former Punjab director general of police (DGP) Siddharth Chattopadhyaya has sought time to file reply from the Punjab and Haryana high court on pleas demanding that sealed cover report on role of cops in drugs probe case submitted by him not be made public.

Former Punjab director general of police (DGP) Siddharth Chattopadhyaya has sought time to file reply from the Punjab and Haryana high court on pleas demanding that sealed cover report on role of cops in drugs probe case submitted by him not be made public.

The pleas have been filed by former DGPs Suresh Arora and Dinkar Gupta.

During the hearing, counsels for Arora and Gupta had submitted before court that there are apprehensions that in his response, Chattopadhyaya might refer to the contents of a report, which is lying in a sealed cover before the high court. Thus, it would amount to practically nullifying the process of keeping the report in a sealed cover as the issue is yet to be decided whether Chattopadhyaya had the authority to give a separate report once there was a three-member committee, which is purely a legal issue, they had argued.

The controversy is about opening of “fourth report” submitted by Chattopadhyaya in his “individual capacity” in a sealed cover. The report was submitted on the issue of role of cops in the probes against drug menace in Punjab in 2018. While three reports were signed by all three SIT members led by Chattopadhyaya. One report was filed by him alone and others had disassociated with it.

On April 6, 2018, Chattopadhyaya claimed before the high court that he was being implicated in a suicide case due to his probe into role of cops in drug probe cases and acting on his submissions, the court stayed proceedings against him. The “role” of then police chief Suresh Arora and then DGP (intelligence) Dinkar Gupta had come to light during the investigation, he had claimed. It was after this incident that the report in question was filed by him.

The three reports opened so far do not talk about any “role” played by Arora or Gupta. The “fourth report” lies in a sealed cover in high court.

In recent pleas by former DGPs, they had opposed opening of the “fourth report”. Arora had argued that Chattopadhyaya chose to make “wild and baseless allegations” against him and Dinkar Gupta “with a view to gain an unfair advantage” at the commencement of professional race. It was argued that report was filed without being signed by the other two SIT members.

Now, Chattopadhyaya’s counsel has submitted before the court that reply would be filed without reference to any aspect pertaining to the “fourth report”. The case will now be taken up on July 14.