Which govt has come, which has gone matters little to us: SC

New Delhi, Aug. Aug 12 :

The Supreme Court Tuesday said that it was immune to changes in the corridors of power as it was solely concerned with dispensing justice in accordance with the law in the cases before it.

“We are not concerned with change in power. Which government has come, which has gone (does not matter). We will pull up anyone breaching the law. This court has done a lot in connection with Gujarat (riot) case,” said an apex court bench of Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai and Justice N.V. Ramana Tuesday.

The court said that, “We are not bothered by the men, personalities or change in government” adding that “any person, any accused, nobody is above law” and “if court is satisfied, it is malafide, it will go irrespective of pre- or post-May.”

There was a change in government at the Centre in May this year.

The court’s observation came as counsel Sunil Fernandes appearing for senior Gujarat cadre IAS officer Pradeep Sharma, now under suspension, told the court that when petition was filed in 2011, it was assumed that petitioner wanted to take mileage of different political dispensation being in power at the Centre by seeking transfer of cases to CBI

He said that petitioner was reiterating his plea even though same political dispensation was ruling in Gujarat and the Centre.

Sharma alleged that Gujarat government was hostile towards him and cases registered against him were malafide and in retribution to his brother, a senior IPS officer Kuldip Sharma, not acting on the illegal orders of the political bosses when he was Additional DG (CID) in the state police.

The Court which will pronounce its order Wednesday on Sharma’s plea allowed his counsel Fernandes to make submissions on the alleged malafide arising out of his brother refusing to toe the dictates of the Gujarat government when he was Addl. DG, CID.

However, it barred him from making any reference to the lady architect who was put under surveillance allegedly on the instruction of top political masters as court treated it as deleted from the petition as directed by it.

Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta appearing for Gujarat government said that most of the cases instituted against Sharma related to period when he was collector Bhuj and were registered on the directions of the court on private complaints.

Mehta said Sharma was involved in allegedly irregular allotment of land meant for people affected by 2001 earthquake in Bhuj.

The apex court August 6 had told Sharma that it would hear his plea only after he removed all the offending references to the then chief minister Narendra Modi.

(IANS)