Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Monday said the controversial Bill tabled by the Vasundhara Raje government to protect public servants from investigation without prior sanction from the government was meant to prevent “motivated complaints.”
At a press briefing, Mr. Prasad said that it was a move to protect public servants from complaints by vested interests. “As per a survey done by the State government, 73% of the complaints against public servants turned out to be without any basis,” he said.
He refused to answer further questions on the issue, stating that the matter was now sub judice , as the Bill was challenged in the Rajasthan High Court.
Balanced law, says MoS
His junior in the Ministry, Minister of State for Law P.P. Choudhary, openly defended the Bill. “This law is perfect and balanced. This considers both media and individual rights. This law is much needed at this point of time,” he said.
These votes of confidence were not shared by the Editors Guild of India that released a statement on Sunday asking that the Rajasthan government take back the ordinance.
The Bill seeks to protect serving and former judges, magistrates and public servants in the State from being investigated for on-duty action, without its prior sanction. It also bars the media from reporting on such accusations till the sanction to proceed with the probe is given by the government.
