The Bombay High Court on Friday rapped the Maharashtra government for failing to initiate disciplinary action against an IPS officer and three other police officers in the Maval firing case.
Three years ago four persons were killed and 19 injured when the police opened fire on farmers staging a protest on the Mumbai-Pune expressway against the laying of a pipeline from the Pavana reservoir to the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation.
A one-member committee of a retired judge of the Bombay High Court was appointed by the State government to probe the incident. The panel indicted four police personnel, including the then Pune Superintendent of Police Sandeep Karnik, inspectors Ashok Patil and Yashwant Gawari and sub-inspector Ganesh Mane for “unjustified” firing.
“Why wasn’t disciplinary inquiry initiated even after the report [of the Justice S.G. Gaikwad committee] was submitted? Not even a show cause notice has been issued to the erring officials,” the court observed on Friday. It was hearing a petition seeking action against them.
“What is the due process of law, my lord? Four months have passed since the affidavit was filed. No action has been taken against the officials till date,” petitioner Ishwar Prasad Khandelwal said.
The Justice Gaikwad report, which has been accepted by the State Cabinet, stated that there was no need to open fire when there was no imminent threat to life or property.
The State government informed the court that it had sent letters to all four police officials seeking their response to the committee’s findings.
But the court was dissatisfied with the reply. “Prima facie, we are of the view that a letter can’t be said to be ‘action taken’ against them. The state will have to take action as per law and take the case to its logical conclusion,” it observed.
It directed the government to file a compliance report and an affidavit by December 10.
