New Delhi: There have been two arrests by the CBI for posting defamatory remarks about Andhra Pradesh High Court judges, days after the Chief Justice of India claimed that the agencies ‘do not respond’ to complaints about threats by lower court judges.
Overall, five people were arrested in the case for allegedly defaming judges. In this case, the first arrest was made by the central agency on July 9. The latest arrests took place on August 7. The accused made derogatory posts on social media about the judiciary after some court decisions that were delivered by them, in an attempt to target the judges and judiciary.
As soon as the case was registered, the CBI traced 13 of the 16 accused named in the FIR. Out of them, three were discovered to be abroad. The CBI has examined 11 out of 13 accused persons and arrested 5 of them so far. CBI searches were also conducted at the premises of accused persons, resulting in the recovery of several incriminating documents.
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In November last year, the CBI registered the case under various sections of the IPC, including section 506 (criminal intimidation) and section 67 of the IT Act. Chief Justice NV Ramana made the comments on Friday, when the court considered the recent murder of a district judge in Jharkhand. ‘The CBI has done nothing. We have expected some change in the CBI’s attitude but there is no change. Sorry to say, this is the situation,’ said the top judge, asking the centre to respond on the pending petition for protecting judges within a week.
Chief Justice Ramana said the CBI and the Intelligence Bureau do not respond when judges complain about threats. ‘Investigating agencies do not help at all and I am making this statement with some sense of responsibility. I am not divulging more. Something has to be done,’ Chief Justice Ramana said. ‘The CBI has done nothing. We have expected some change in the CBI’s attitude but there is no change. Sorry to say, this is the situation,’ the Chief Justice added.
Jharkhand District judge Uttam Anand, 49, was killed when an auto rammed him on his way to work on July 28. CCTV footage, which emerged online, showed the auto going straight for the judge along a deserted stretch of road before knocking him down. Judge Anand, who had handled many mafia killings in Dhanbad, had denied bail to two gangsters.
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