The Arvind Kejriwal-led Cabinet on Tuesday rejected the panel of lawyers proposed by Delhi Police to argue cases related to the north-east Delhi riots and anti-CAA protests in the Supreme Court and the Delhi High Court.
Delhi Police had proposed a panel of six senior lawyers, including Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and Aman Lekhi as special counsel, in 85 cases related to the riots and protests.
The decision, which the Cabinet said sought to “ensure independence between investigation and prosecution” and address questions raised on the “fairness” and “impartiality” of the force in the investigation of these cases, has paved the way for a fresh round of confrontation between the Delhi government and the office of Lieutenant-Governor Anil Baijal.
The Cabinet, the Chief Minister’s Office said in a statement, observed that courts had already raised “serious questions on fairness of investigations” done by Delhi Police in riots cases and a free and fair trial would not be possible by “a panel of lawyers selected by Delhi Police itself”.
‘Routine matter’
The Cabinet has issued directions for the appointment of the “best lawyers in the country” to represent the Delhi government in such cases. According to sources, while observing that Mr. Baijal’s office had special powers to disagree with the government, the Cabinet said this was in the “rarest of rare” cases and the appointment of prosecutors was a routine matter unfit to be referred to the President.
Mr. Baijal’s office chose not to react immediately but Raj Niwas sources said a detailed response to the decision was expected on Wednesday.
The AAP government had earlier rejected Delhi Police proposal stating that its standing counsel Rahul Mehra and his team were capable of contesting the riots cases. This was followed by disagreement on Mr. Baijal’s part who then wrote a letter to Mr. Kejriwal, asking him to refer the matter to the Council of Ministers and take a decision “expeditiously, preferably within a week”.
