A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud said that political leaders cannot be put on a higher pedestal and cannot be given immunity. (File Reuters Photo)
The CJI asked how can there be a different set of procedures for politicians
The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to entertain a plea filed by 14 parties, led by the Congress, alleging arbitrary use of central probe agencies against opposition leaders and seeking guidelines for the future.
A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud said that political leaders cannot be put on a higher pedestal and cannot be given immunity. Justices PS Narasimha and JB Pardiwala were also part of the bench.
The apex court further said that political leaders too are citizens of India.
“The moment you say democracy, it is essentially a plea for politicians,” the CJI said and asked how can there be a different set of procedures for politicians.
The plea alleged there is an alarming rise in the use of coercive criminal processes against opposition political leaders and other citizens exercising their fundamental right to dissent.
“Investigating agencies such as CBI and ED are being increasingly deployed in a selective and targeted manner with a view to completely crush political dissent and upend the fundamental premises of a representative democracy,” a statement issued on behalf of a petitioner alleged.
The plea filed through lawyer Shadan Farasat cited some statistics and said they demonstrated a “shocking and unconstitutional state of affairs”.
Besides the Congress, the parties that were part of the joint move were the DMK, RJD, BRS, Trinamool Congress, AAP, NCP, Shiv Sena (UBT), JMM, JD(U), CPI(M), CPI, Samajwadi Party and the J&K National Conference.
(with inputs from PTI)
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