Delhi Cabinet has rejected the panel of lawyers proposed by the Delhi Police after observing that the courts have already raised serious questions on fairness of investigations done by the Delhi Police in the riot cases.

The decision was taken by the Delhi government in a cabinet meeting held on Tuesday to decide on the matter of appointment of a panel of lawyers in the Supreme Court and High Court for cases related to riots in north-east Delhi.

Keeping in mind the principles of the criminal justice system and the need to ensure independence between investigation and prosecution, the Delhi Cabinet has directed the home department to form an impartial panel of the best possible lawyers in the country for the cases related to the Delhi riots, the government said in a statement.

The Cabinet has also observed that in such a situation a free and fair trial of these cases would not be possible by a panel of lawyers selected by the Delhi Police itself.

After thoroughly studying the proposal made by the Lieutenant Government and the Delhi Police, the cabinet noted that anyone who is guilty of causing communal violence in Delhi should be punished severely.

“It was also observed that at the same time there should not be any punishment or harassment of innocent people and rejected the suggestion of the L-G to approve the Delhi Police's panel of lawyers,” it said.

During the meeting, the Delhi Cabinet noted that Justice Suresh Kumar of the Delhi High Court has earlier observed that the Delhi Police is taking the entire judicial system on a ride on the Delhi riot cases.

“The Cabinet has also noted that various session courts and media have questioned the role of the Delhi Police during the riot and its investigation. The Delhi Cabinet has observed that in such a situation the panel of lawyers of the Delhi Police would not be able to ensure justice in these cases,” it said.

The Delhi Cabinet observed that these cases are very important and the Delhi government's panel of lawyers should represent these cases.

Keeping the fundamental principle of any criminal justice system in mind, the Delhi Cabinet has observed that under such circumstances it is not possible to expect a free and fair trial by lawyers appointed by Delhi Police.

The Cabinet of the Delhi Government has noted that the investigating agency should not be allowed to decide the lawyers.

Apart from this, the Cabinet of Delhi government also observed that it is unfortunate the way L-G has been repeatedly interfering in the decision of appointment of the panel of lawyers.

In its order, the constitution bench of the Supreme Court has clearly stated dated April 7, 2018 that the Lieutenant Governor can exercise his authority over decisions of the elected government only in the rarest of rare cases. “The Cabinet noted that in this case, the L-G had written a letter to the Chief Minister of Delhi for taking a decision in the cabinet, disagreeing with the panel of lawyers already set up by the Delhi government.

However, Section 24 of the CrPC also mentions that the Delhi government has the right to appoint public prosecutors, it said, adding that under the constitution, the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi has special powers to intervene and overturn any decision of the elected government of Delhi.

“But the Supreme Court has said that the Lieutenant Governor can exercise this right only in the rarest of rare cases. Otherwise, it is against the spirit of democracy. Appointment of a panel of lawyers does not fall into any rare category and it is a normal procedure. For this reason, the Delhi government is fully empowered to appoint lawyers,” it added.

The Delhi government's Cabinet has agreed with the Lieutenant Governor in the matter that the Delhi riots cases are very important and should be represented by the best lawyers and also observed that the Delhi government will form a panel comprising the best lawyers of the country.

Earlier, the Delhi Police had sent a proposal to the Delhi government to appoint six senior lawyers including Tushar Mehta and Aman Lekhi as Special Counsel in the High Court and Supreme Court in 85 cases related to the North East riots and anti CAA protests.

The Delhi Government rejected the Delhi Police's proposal and said that Delhi government's lawyer Rahul Mehra and his team were capable of getting justice in these cases.

After this, Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal disagreed with the proposal sent by the Home Minister of Delhi and asked for the file using his special power. Later a meeting took place between the L-G and Home Minister of Delhi but the meeting was inconclusive. Then, Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal wrote a letter to the Chief Minister and asked the Delhi Cabinet to take a decision on this matter.