The Uttar Pradesh Government got notice from the Supreme Court on the sting operation conducted by private TV channels which exposed the policemen-politician nexus in the Muzaffarnagar riots case.
Issuing notice on separate petitions filed by NGO Common Cause and other individuals demanding a CBI probe into the contents of the sting, the bench of Chief Justice P Sathasivam, Justices Ranjana Desai and Ranjan Gogoi said, “Serious allegations have been raised in the petitions. We cannot ignore these allegations.” Posting the matter for hearing on October 17, the court also sought response of the State on a petition alleging the State to have discriminated against the victims of a particular community in distribution of relief and rehabilitation.
UP Government counsel senior advocate Rajeev Dhavan informed the court that based on the information contained in the application, he had already asked the State functionaries to collect the full transcripts from the concerned channels. The sting operation had exposed the role of a senior Minister in the UP Government in influencing the investigation and in making arrests.
The court was further informed about a group of lawyers who visited Muzaffarnagar and interviewed villagers on the false pretext of being deputed by the Supreme Court. Outraged by the incident, the bench directed a suitable application to be filed to facilitate action against the said lawyers. “Nobody can use our name and get information. We will take action against them,” bench said.