Kalyan asked to amend plea

By Our Legal Correspondent

NEW DELHI, JAN. 2. The Supreme Court today asked Mr. Kalyan Singh, former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, to amend his petition seeking transfer of his writ petition challenging the summons issued to him by the Justice Liberhans Commission from the Allahabad High Court to the Delhi High Court.

A Bench comprising Mr. Justice B.N. Kirpal and Mrs. Justice Ruma Pal told Mr. Singh's counsel, Mr. M.N. Krishnamani that instead of transferring the Allahabad High Court matter, filed in 1993, to the Delhi High Court, the better thing would be to transfer the petition filed in the Delhi High Court to the Allahabad High Court.

Mr. Krishnamani said he had no objection to this. When the Bench pointed out that the prayer in the petition was for transferring the case from the Delhi High Court to the Allahabad High Court, the counsel sought time to amend the prayer and the court granted three weeks for this purpose.

In his petition, Mr. Singh said the Allahabad High Court had passed an interim order in 1993 that ``the petitioner cannot be compelled to file an affidavit or otherwise compelled to give any information to the Commission.''

He said in spite of this, the Commission issued summons to him in May 2000 followed by bailable warrants in July asking him to depose before the Commission. The writ petition challenging this order was pending in the Delhi High Court. The present petition in the Apex Court was for transferring this petition from the Delhi High Court to the Allahabad High court.

Mr. Singh contended that if he were to be compelled to depose before the Commission, it would prejudice his defence and his right to defend himself in the criminal case. As the Commission was functioning in Delhi, it would be more appropriate to transfer all the cases pending in the Allahabad High Court to the Delhi High Court, he submitted and prayed for a direction in this regard.

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Section  : National
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