From: Human Rights Coordinator <hrcoord@igc.org>
Newsgroups: soc.rights.human
Date: 22 Jul 92 16:20 PDT
Subject: Justice Bains - Update on Supreme C
Nf-ID: #N:cdp:1476700249:000:5170
Nf-From: cdp.UUCP!hrcoord    Jul 22 16:20:00 1992


From: Human Rights Coordinator <hrcoord>
Subject: Justice Bains - Update on Supreme C

/* Written  8:32 pm  Jul 18, 1992 by dawar@gradient.cis.upenn.edu in cdp:soc.cult.india */
BULLETIN			 Number 22, July 10, 1992.
Committee for the Release of Justice Ajit Singh Bains.

Issued by Dr. Jeffrey Goodman - Canadian Coordinator
	  76 Rusholme Rd., Toronto, Ontario M6J 3H5
	  Tele/Fax Number: (416) 537-8142

SUPREME COURT POSTPONES CASE YET AGAIN

The Supreme Court of India's vacation judge, M.N. Venkatachelliah postponed
the hearings of two petitions from July 9 to July 15 on the request of the
Advocate General of Punjab.  Over a hundred people had gathered in the Court
for the hearings.  The two petitions which were to be heard were both filed
by Mrs.  Rashpal Kaur, the wife of Justice Bains, The first one, filed after
the Punjab and Haryana High Court dismissed an earlier petition, sought the
release of Justice Bains and compensation for handcuffing him.  In the
second one, Mrs.  Rashpal Kaur moved the Supreme Court alleging mala fide
intention against the Chief Minister Mr. Beant Singh.  The reason given for
the postponement was that the case would have to be decided by a regular
bench of the Supreme Court which would not be in session until July 15.

The July 9 hearing date had been set on June 16 by Justice Venkatachelliah
when arguments on the two petitions were heard.  The allegation of Mrs.
Rashpal Kaur was based on the reported utterance of the Chief Minister Beant
Singh to a delegation of lawyers on May 15 when he told the lawyers to "keep
themselves off" Justice Bains detention case as he had to "settle personal
scores with him."  According to the petition, the malicious intent of Chief
Minister Beant Singh stems from a judgement delivered on November 18. 1981
by Justice Bains and Justice Tiwana.  In this judgement the High Court while
upholding the conviction of a double murder accused had disbelieved the
testimony of the then State Minister Beant Singh.  The petition further
argues that Beant Singh had also made a statement in the Punjab Legislative
Assembly saying that the government would not release Ajit SIngh Bains
because, as Chairman of the State level committee appointed by the Barnala
government, he had ordered the release of 3,000 detainees arrested as
terrorists.  The argument of the Counsel for the Punjab Government was that
the arrest was not mala fide but was made on account of the "seditious
statements" made by Justice Bains in a speech he gave at Anandpur Sahib on
March 18.  On July 9 a decision was to be made whether Justice Bains had
been maliciously detained or whether his "speech" justified the detention.

After the decision to postpone the hearing was made, the Advocate General
proceeded to make a detailed report of the steps that had been taken as per
court instructions to give the best of facilities to Justice Bains in
prison.  In his affidavit he even termed the jail in which Justice Bains is
being detained as a V.I.P. jail.  Then he said that the state government had
taken disciplinary action against the police officer who was responsible for
handcuffing Justice Bains.  This action was to reduce the officer's service
record by two years.  In this manner, the Advocate General was accepting
that the facts stated by Justice Bains were correct and the version of the
police was incorrect.  Earlier the police had completely denied handcuffing
Justice Bains.

The Advocate General further stated that the Chief Minister of Punjab had
denied any vendetta against Justice Bains.  He said that the Chief Minister
as well as various other officials of the government (including the police
officer Sanjeev Gupta charged with the handcuffing) have stated that the
arrest is an administrative action.  Hardev Singh, lawyer of Mrs. Rashpal
Kaur, then pointed out that from the arguments about administrative action
advanced by the Advocate General it seemed that only two people - constable
Chain Singh and one other - were responsible for such an important case.
Hardev Singh pointed out that affidavits had been filed on behalf of the
lawyers who had been told by Chief Minister Beant Singh to keep off the case
as he had personal scores to settle.  Affidavits had also been filed showing
the cases of the release of five others who were arrested under the same
charges and who have subsequently been released.  Meanwhile Justice Bains
also filed an affidavit denying the allegation of the police that he had
participated in any secret meeting on the day of the Holla Mohalla.

An earlier petition which is to be heard in the end of July has already been
postponed four times.  Filed on April 23 the petition challenges the illegal
detention of Justice Ajit Singh Bains and the constitutionality of certain
provisions of the Terrorism and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act.  It
was filed by Nirmal Mukherjee, former Cabinet Secretary and Governor of
Punjab, Justice R.S. Narula, former Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana
High Court, Patwant Singh, journalist, Inder Mohan, activist and Prof. Rajni
Kothari, author and founder of the Centre for the Study of Developing
Societies.

Newsgroups: soc.rights.human,misc.legal,alt.activism