Updated: October 31, 2015 07:39 IST
Alleges “pressure” by L-G to grant parole to ex-Haryana CM Om Prakash Chautala
Minister for Home Satyendra Jain on Friday formally complained to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal about being “pressured” by Lieutenant-Governor Najeeb Jung to grant parole to incarcerated Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) leader Om Prakash Chautala.
This, even as the Delhi government picked holes in a press statement from Raj Niwas on the topic accusing Mr. Jung of hiding facts and levelling “incorrect allegations” against it regarding the said application in addition to a request filed on behalf of the 84-year-old former Haryana Chief Minister to be moved to a prison facility in that State and rejected the allegation that Mr. Jain had sought the dropping of criminal charges against Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) legislators, including Mr. Kejriwal.
“Since October 21, when Mr. Jung summoned Mr. Jain for what he sought to portray as an ‘official matter of significance’, we have consistently maintained that the Delhi Home Minister was not only subjected to pressure by the L-G but even threatened to do his bidding and continue to do so,” said a senior government official.
A day later, The Hindu had reported on the episode during which, according to the government, Mr. Jung is alleged to have “asked Mr. Jain to look the other way in relation to the Prison Manual” so as to grant parole to Chautala, who is currently undergoing a decade-long stint behind bars at West Delhi’s Tihar Jail after being convicted in a scandal involving recruitment of Junior Basic Teachers (JBT) in Haryana, on account of his “advanced age”.
In response to Mr. Jung, according to the government official, Mr. Jain argued against the move citing Prison Rules, the gravity of the charges against Chautala and the fact that the government had already rejected a similar plea on behalf of Chautala earlier this year, “but to no avail”.
On Friday, the government questioned how Mr. Jung was privy to Chautala’s bail application well a week in advance of a file related to it having been moved to Raj Niwas from the Chief Minister’s Office.
“According to the latest press release issued by the office of the honourable L-G, it has been now admitted that he did mention to Mr. Jain about the pending parole request of Chautala on October 21. However, the question that has not been answered is how did he know that another parole application had been filed by him when the file had not even reached him?” the government said in a statement.
In response to the L-G’s allegation that Mr. Jain had sought the dropping of compoundable criminal cases against AAP MLAs, the government not only claimed that it was false but also pointed out that the very committee empowered to take decisions to this effect had, as per procedure, remained out of the purview of politicians since 2008.
L-G is alleged to have “asked Satyendra Jain to look the other way in relation to the Prison Manual” so as to grant parole to Chautala, who is in Tihar Jail after being convicted in a scandal involving recruitment of Junior Basic Teachers in Haryana, on account of his “advanced age”
Compoundable cases against political leaders or activists are never withdrawn on executive orders, but through a screening committee comprising only members of the bureaucracy
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