Supreme Court junks pleas to remove ex-DGP from panel

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday said cannot look at one part of the statement and question the integrity as it junked pleas to remove former Uttar Pradesh DGP K.L. Gupta as a member of the inquiry commission set up to probe the Vikas Dubey encounter case. The petitioners cited Gupta's statements in the media supporting police action.

A bench comprising Chief Justice S.A. Bobde, Justice A.S. Bopanna and Justice V. Ramasubramanian told the petitioners there is a retired Supreme Court judge and High Court judge on the panel besides Gupta. "Why are you worried? Why are you casting aspersions on them? Do not do this" the Chief Justice told advocate Ghanshyam Upadhyay, one of the petitioners who moved the court seeking a court-monitored probe into the encounter of Dubey and his aides, and also sought reconstitution of the probe panel.

Upadhyay, citing news reports, contended that Gupta has already given a clean chit to the officers involved in the encounter in an interview. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the UP government, argued that Gupta had said let the inquiry happen, as a petition is there and the court will decide the matter.

The Chief Justice said that Gupta is not taking sides in the controversy. "We cannot change this person like this because of the apprehensions. You are only looking at one part of it", the bench told the petitioner. (IANS) 

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