The Madhya Pradesh High Court in Jabalpur on Monday sought the opinion of the Attorney General on a petition of Governor Ram Naresh Yadav seeking quashing of an FIR against him in connection with the recruitment scam. A division bench of Chief Justice AM Khanwilkar and Justice Alok Aradhe also served notices to the State Government, the Special Task Force (STF) probing the multi-crore MP Professional Examination Board (MPPEB) scam, and the SIT which is monitoring the STF investigation.
The HC asked the STF to treat the Governor gracefully and refrain from taking coercive action against him, after Yadav's counsels Ram Jethmalani, Adarsh Muni Trivedi, Mahendra Pateria and Ashish Trivedi told the court that their client was willing to provide any information to the probe agency in connection with the case. Jethmalani, Trivedi and other lawyers argued that criminal proceedings against the Governor were contrary to the provisions of Article 361(2) and Article (3) of Constitution which grant immunity to the President and Governors while in office. They contended that the FIR filed against Yadav was totally illegal.
The court then served notices to the Attorney General, the State Government's SIT and STF and fixed March 23 as the next date of hearing in the case. After an FIR was filed last month against Yadav by the STF, alleging his complicity in the forest guard recruitment exam conducted by the MPPEB, he has been under tremendous pressure to resign. The Congress and ABVP have staged protests demanding his resignation. Yadav had even rushed to Delhi, but couldn't get an appointment with President Pranab Mukherjee, Home Minister Rajnath Singh and other leaders.
Besides the Governor, the STF had also filed an FIR against his son Shailesh Yadav in the contractual teachers' recruitment scam. The STF had earlier arrested the Governor's former Officer On Special Duty (OSD) Dhanraj Yadav, in connection with the scam.