Need to investigate Kalikho Pul's suicide note by SIT of 5 senior judges who are not mentioned in it
Statement by Campaign for Judicial Accountability and Reforms (CJAR) on the suicide note of former Arunachal Pradesh CM Kalikho Pul:
Kalikho Pul was the Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh who was unseated on account of a judgment of the Supreme Court, which quashed the imposition of President’s Rule in Arunachal Pradesh and restored status quo ante. He committed suicide on 9th August 2016.
Immediately after his suicide a 60 page suicide note/diary was discovered. This note was signed on every page by Kalikho Pul and the last page is dated 08th August 2016, the day on which he committed suicide.
The contents of this 60 page note with redactions of some of the names contained in it, have been published by various media outlets in the country. They contain very serious allegations of corruption especially in the highest judiciary of India. Though it is not necessary that all the allegations contained in the note even those which are made from his personal knowledge are factually correct, yet a suicide note is treated like a dying declaration and needs to be taken very seriously.
The former Governor of Arunachal Mr. Raj Khowa has repeatedly said that the allegations are very serious and need thorough investigation preferably by the CBI. In our view too the allegations contained in the note are indeed very serious and merit an in-depth investigation, so that the rumours and speculations which are swirling around are finally put to rest.
Unfortunately the publication of the note with redacted names has fueled further speculation about the names which are contained in the note. We are therefore publishing the entire note (without any redactions) so that the true facts about the contents of the note are brought before the people which are essential in public interest. The contents of the note do raise serious questions about corruption in the judiciary and judicial accountability and independence.
It is surprising that despite the strong recommendation of the former Governor of Arunachal, the government did not take steps to have the matter investigated by an impartial body. In our view it would not be appropriate for such a sensitive matter to be investigated by an investigative agency under the control of the government. We therefore feel that this needs to be investigated by a SIT setup by a committee/bench of 5 senior most judges who are not mentioned in the suicide note.
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Click HERE for the suicide note, forwarded by CJAR to Counterview
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