Chandigarh: Advocate General (AG) of Punjab, Vinod Ghai, landed in hot water Monday with leader of opposition Partap Singh Bajwa demanding an investigation against him for allegedly “demeaning” a woman lawyer working with him and indulging in “blatant misuse of authority”.
In his letter to Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit — sent after a video issued by the family of the woman lawyer surfaced Sunday — Bajwa also demanded Ghai’s removal as AG.
In his letter, a copy of which Bajwa tweeted, the senior Congress leader referred to the video posted on YouTube in which the woman gives details of Ghai’s conduct towards her sister, who is also a lawyer in the Punjab and Haryana High Court and working with Ghai.
In his letter Bajwa said, “It is most unfortunate that a video surfaced yesterday on YouTube wherein an advocate Ms…. (name withheld by ThePrint) has made startling revelations regarding the conduct of Vinod Ghai, Advocate General, Punjab vis-à-vis his associate counsel who happens to be the real sister of Ms….”.
“The facts mentioned in the video, if true, are inexcusable. These facts are not a mere commission of offences but also involve blatant and glaring acts of abuse of authority involving all sorts of shameful acts against a lady by intimidating her parents, sister and brother,” Bajwa wrote.
The video, he added, mentions that the woman and her family were threatened saying that they would be implicated in false cases and even killed in an “accident”.
Request Hon’ble Governor, Punjab to remove AG Punjab immediately and order CBI investigation regarding allegations of serious misconduct against him. pic.twitter.com/YolB2GS7yC
— Partap Singh Bajwa (@Partap_Sbajwa) April 10, 2023
“It is specifically stated in the video that the Punjab Police being under the Advocate General would put the family behind bars by implicating them in false cases. There are many screenshots, audio and video clips shown in this video to substantiate the misconduct of Sh. Vinod Ghai, Advocate General, Punjab,” the letter said.
“If what has been stated in this video is correct, then it shows that one of the seniormost functionaries of the government holding the constitutional post of Advocate General is behaving in such a demeaning manner with a woman. Such an act cannot be permitted to go uninvestigated,” added Bajwa. “The misuse of Punjab Police for implicating innocent persons in false cases is quite well known. Along with this, the head of the legal team of the Punjab government, instead of providing justice to the people of Punjab, is indulging in such illegal acts and the Punjab Police, instead of protecting the people of the state, is being used to implicate innocent persons in false cases. What can be more shocking than this?”
When contacted, Ghai told ThePrint that he did not want to say anything on the matter and that he was in court and working.
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‘Fair, expeditious investigation need of the hour’
The letter pointed out that the AG and his team are “supposed to ensure that justice is meted out to the people”, but alleges that Ghai himself is guilty of such offences.
“If the Punjab Police had been so fair, the Director General of Police, Punjab would have ordered registration of FIR the moment such a video had surfaced as cognizable offences had been brought to his knowledge. But no such action was taken by him which clearly shows that the allegations levelled against Punjab Police are correct,” wrote Bajwa.
He has requested Ghai’s removal as AG and demanded an investigation into the allegations made in the video.
“Law is Blind Statute i.e. Lady Justice with her eyes covered represents impartiality embodying the ideal that justice should be applied irrespective of the wealth, power or status of the accused persons,” he wrote. “Therefore, considering the ethical, moral, legal and social implications of all the allegations levelled in the video regarding the conduct of Advocate General, Punjab, I request your goodself to kindly remove him from his post with immediate effect and order an investigation into the allegations so levelled against him. The allegations being levelled in the video clearly constitute cognizable offences and hence, following the Judgment of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Lalita Kumari vs. Government of UP and Others, registration of FIR is imperative.”
Bajwa ended his letter to Governor Purohit with a request for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe “as the conduct of Punjab Police is already clearly highlighted in this video and a fair and expeditious investigation is the need of the hour.”
(Edited by Zinnia Ray Chaudhuri)