BJP questions appointment of retired judge to monitor Naba murder case
BHUBANESWAR: Senior BJP leader Pitambar Acharya on Tuesday targeted the state government over the appointment of Justice J P Das for monitoring the murder investigation of minister Naba Kishore Das claiming that his appointment is without legal sanctity.
Taking exception to the state government claim that the Crime Branch investigation into the murder case is monitored by the Orissa High Court, Acharya, addressing a media conference, asked the government to show the judicial order of the appointment of a retired judge for supervising the ongoing investigation.
Terming the appointment of a retired high court judge as illegal, the senior high court lawyer questioned the basis on which his appointment was made. There is neither a judicial proceeding nor a writ petition pending before the court or anyone approached the high court for the appointment of a high court judge to monitor the case. The state government is using the HC for its own purpose, Acharya said.
“Justice Das has not been judicially appointed to supervise a statutorily conducted investigation under Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC). There are no terms of reference nor any clarity on his monitoring the case. This may provide an opportunity to the accused to challenge the legal process of the investigation,” he said.
Coming down heavily on Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, he said the appointment of a retd HC judge to monitor the investigation showed that the government has no trust in its own agency.
The BJP has been demanding a CBI probe into this high profile case as Crime Branch has lost credibility after its investigation into sensational Pari, Mamita Meher and the Mahanga double murder case. What prompted the government to request the Orissa High Court for appointment of a judge to monitor the case, he questioned.
Responding to the BJP allegations, BJD MLA Prashant Muduli said the Opposition has a habit of making such wild allegations. Democracy will not survive if people don’t have faith on the judiciary, he added.