Former Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Kalikho Pul’s wife, Dangwimsai Pul, on Thursday secured the Supreme Court’s approval to withdraw her letter to Chief Justice of India JS Khehar demanding a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into his death, IANS reported. Her counsel Dushyant Dave demanded to know who had instructed the court registry to list the letter for a Supreme Court hearing when it was “meant to be dealt with on administrative side”.
On February 17, she had written to Chief Justice of India JS Khehar demanding a CBI inquiry and released her husband’s 60-page suicide note in which he reportedly named several political leaders as well as Supreme Court judges involved in scams. She demanded that a First Information Report be lodged on the the basis of the suicide note.
She said the apex court’s hearing of the matter “will lead to closure of other remedies”. Dave said they may approach Vice-President Hamid Ansari to seek prosecution of the judges named as President Pranab Mukherjee’s name was also mentioned in her husband’s suicide note, IANS reported.
She had alleged that her family was getting threats from the Arunachal Pradesh government, reported The Hindu. She also accused the present state government of apathy and sought the intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Dangwimsai Pul added that unless those who are named in the suicide note step down, a fair investigation into her husband’s death cannot be conducted.
In the note, titled “Mere Vichaar”, the former chief minister had claimed that relatives of two Supreme Court judges had sought bribe worth Rs 86 crore from him for ensuring that President’s Rule in the state would not be declared illegal, reported The Telegraph. However, on July 13 last year, the Supreme Court had quashed the President’s Rule that was imposed in January. The apex court had restored the Congress government in Arunachal Pradesh, reinstating Nabam Tuki’s leadership.
Meanwhile, a panel of jurists also made a similar demand. They said that a special investigation team be set up by judges to probe the matter. “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 an SIT set up by a committee/bench of five senior-most judges who are not mentioned in the suicide note,” read the statement from the Committee for Judicial Accountability and Reforms.
Pul was found hanging in his room on August 9, less than a month after the court’s ruling. Pema Khandu was then chosen by the Congress as the new chief minister, with the party saying that Tuki did not have enough support from party legislators.
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