[BREAKING] PM Modi Security Breach: Supreme Court orders probe by committee headed by retired SC judge Justice Indu Malhotra

The Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered that a 5-member judicial committee headed by retired Supreme Court judge Justice Indu Malhotra will probe the alleged security lapse that took place during the recent Punjab visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi [Lawyers Voice v. State of Punjab and Others]..The other members of the committee would be:- Director General or his nominee not below the rank of Inspector General of Police of the National Investigation Agency;- Director General of Police, Union Territory of Chandigarh; - Additional Director General of Police (Security), State of Punjab;- Registrar General, Punjab and Haryana High Court (as member cum coordinator).The committee will examine the cause of breach of security and also suggest the safeguards required to ensure safety of the Prime Minister..The order was passed by a Bench of Chief Justice of India NV Ramana and Justices Surya Kant and Hima Kohli on a plea seeking a court-monitored probe into the alleged security breach during PM Modi's Punjab visit..During the last hearing of the plea on January 10, the Court had already made it clear that it will appoint a judicial committee to conduct a probe. However, the composition of the committee was not decided then.During his visit to Punjab on January 5, the Prime Minister's convoy was stuck on a flyover at Hussainwala for twenty minutes. It is alleged that the same happend after some protesters allegedly blocked the road.The Central government and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) blamed the Congress government in Punjab for the security lapse. The State government, however, maintained that the PM had altered his route at the last minute.The plea filed by an organisation called Lawyers Voice sought suspension of Punjab Chief Secretary Anirudh Tewari and Director General of Police Sidharth Chattopadhyaya.It further prayed that the apex court should take cognizance of the incident and direct the Bathinda District Judge to collect all official documents and materials regarding the deployment and movements of the Punjab Police during the PM's visit.Notably, the Government of Punjab had constituted a two-member high level committee to conduct a thorough probe into the security lapse. The Committee will have former Chief Justice of the Punjab & Haryana High Court Justice Mehtab Singh Gill, and Principal Secretary, Home Affairs & Justice, Government of Punjab Anurag Verma as its members. Subsequently, the Central government had formed its own committee to look into the incident..[Read Order]