PM Modi security breach: Chairman of Bar Council of Punjab & Haryana urges High Court CJ to take suo motu cognisance

The Chairman of the Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana on Thursday wrote a letter to the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, urging him to take suo-moto cognisance of the security lapse related to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Punjab visit on January 5 when his convoy was stuck on a flyover at Hussainwala..Chairman Minderjeet Yadav in his personal capacity requested Chief Justice Ravi Shankar Jha's intervention alleging "sketchy approach" on the part of Government of Punjab."Inspite of being communicated in advance, the Punjab Government failed to make necessary arrangements for logistics, security as well as keep a contingency plan ready as is routinely done," the letter claimed.The letter said that the State's efforts was nothing short of cynical connivance with farmers' supported unions.Due to the lapse, PM Modi was left totally exposed atop an unsecured flyover for over 15-20 minutes, only kms away from the India-Pakistan border..The chairman also requested the Chief Justice to set up an enquiry commission to judicially examine the evidence relating to the matter."In all earnest, taking the liberty, I seek to write to Your Lordship, suggesting to take suo moto cognizance and consider setting up a Commission of Enquiry to judicially examine evidences like Advance Security Liaison (ASL) reports, central and state inputs, protectee's itineary, state security audits, police route maps, IB clearance certificates, federal checking mechanism, alternatives and contingency plans, local intelligence diaries etc., to reach an appropriate conclusion to ascertain whether there is a visible breakdown of constitutional machinery in the State," the letter urged.Interestingly, a plea is already pending before the Supreme Court seeking a court-monitored probe into the security breach related to the Punjab visit of the Prime Minister.The plea filed by an organisation called Lawyers Voice has sought the suspension of Punjab Chief Secretary Anirudh Tewari and Director-General of Police Sidharth Chattopadhyaya.The Supreme Court on Friday ordered that the travel records pertaining to the PM's visit be preserved.The Government of Punjab has meanwhile 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..[Read Letter]