‘Unwarranted’: Why Delhi court rapped CBI for ‘South Group’ tag in liquor policy case | India News
Kejriwal, Sisodia acquitted of all charges
New Delhi: A Delhi court on Friday drew strong criticism Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for repeatedly using the term “South Group” in its chargesheet, when it exonerated the former chief minister Arvind KejriwalAgainst former Education Minister Manish Sisodia and 21 others in liquor policy case.The court said the nomenclature had no basis in law and cautioned the agency to exercise restraint in choosing language in investigative narratives.
Special Judge Jitendra Singh said, “The Court finds it necessary to record its concern over the repeated and deliberate use of the expression ‘South Group’ by the investigating agency, to describe a set of accused persons, ostensibly on the basis of their regional origin or residence.”“It is equally significant that no comparable regional descriptor has been assigned to the rest of the accused persons. The prosecution narrative does not mention any ‘northern group’ or similar classification. The selective adoption of a geographically defined label is, therefore, clearly arbitrary and unreasonable,” he added, as quoted by the news agency.The court also held that region-based labeling may create a discriminatory perception and is inconsistent with constitutional principles.“Continued use of this label, despite the absence of any legally-sustainable basis, carries a real risk of coloring perceptions, causing unintended prejudice and diverting focus from the evidentiary material, which alone should guide judgment,” it said.observed that the issue was not merely semantic, adding that, “identity-based labeling, by race, nationality or regional origin, cannot be employed as a prosecutorial shorthand where such identity is irrelevant to the crime. Such labeling is not a mere irregularity of expression, but constitutes a constitutional infirmity capable of undermining the fairness of the proceedings.“Justice Jitendra Singh asked the central agency to exercise “greater care, caution and restraint” while drafting the charge sheet and investigative details. “Descriptions of accused persons must be strictly neutral, evidence-based and free from expressions that carry a stigmatizing, discriminatory or insulting connotation,” he said, adding that the use of such terminology violates constitutional provisions.“Persistence with such designations undermines due process of law and can be avoided in the interest of an impartial and constitutionally-compliant administration of criminal justice,” he added.
