CUTTACK: The State Government on Saturday sought 15 days to file its reply to the petition filed by the Rourkela Bar Association for permission to withdraw from participating in the Justice AS Naidu Commission of Inquiry. The Commission is probing the alleged police assault on judicial magistrate at Rourkela in April last year. The Commission, which held its sitting on Saturday, granted the time and has posted the next hearing to April 21.
The Rourkela Bar has sought withdrawal from the proceedings to protest the promotion accorded to the then SP of Rourkela Diptesh Pattnaik who is under scrutiny in the inquiry. When the Commission’s inquiry into the incident is at an advanced stage, the promotion given to the officer, who was asked to go on leave by the Government, is a direct attack on the rule of law, the Bar submitted.
The action of the State Government exhibits that it has no trust on the findings of the Commission. The Bar further alleged that as per the direction of the High Court in the PIL, it had submitted a representation before the Government, but no action has been taken.