By IANS
New Delhi : Pulling up Delhi Police for neglecting duty, the Delhi High Court Tuesday asked them to investigate the role of 11 members of parliament who were caught on hidden camera accepting money to raise questions in parliament.
“The police cannot investigate a crime partially only in respect of some accused, leaving other accused untouched on the ground that their names do not appear in the FIR (first information report),” Justice S.N. Dhingra ruled while asking the police to conduct investigations against the MPs and submit a report in 60 days.
“The whole country had watched the sting operation (telecast by a TV news channel in December 2005), but the police seem to have no eyes and no ears,” the judge said while directing the police not to single out some people or leave out the MPs.
It is the obligation of Delhi Police to book all those involved in the offence of taking money for raising questions in parliament, the court said, while passing the order on a petition filed by Anirudh Bahal, editor-in-chief of news portal Cobra Post, which carried out the undercover operation.
“The police are directed to book all those persons involved in the offence of taking bribe and their middlemen and to get them punished according to law,” said the judge in his order.
Siddharth Luthra, counsel for Bahal, contended that the police were targeting him (Bahal) instead of taking action against the MPs.
It seemed that Delhi police did not consider taking cognisance of the offence allegedly committed by the MPs, the court said, holding that the sting operation was carried out in the public interest.
The court had on Aug 29 sought to know from the police the action taken against the MPs involved in the cash-for-query scam.
It had restrained the police from arresting the journalists involved in the undercover operation on Bahal’s petition, which sought quashing of criminal proceedings against the journalists as an FIR against them was lodged by the police at the behest of the MPs concerned.
As many as 11 MPs, 10 from the Lok Sabha and one from the Rajya Sabha, were expelled from the houses after they were caught on hidden camera demanding money for raising questions in parliament.