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Five reasons why arrest of Delhi law minister reeks of political vendetta

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Kumar Shakti Shekhar
Kumar Shakti ShekharJun 10, 2015 | 11:47

Five reasons why arrest of Delhi law minister reeks of political vendetta

Delhi law minister Jitender Singh Tomar was arrested by the Delhi Police on Tuesday morning in the fake law degree case. Singh is accused of presenting a fake law degree in his election affidavits. But several questions have been raised on the manner in which the Delhi law minister was arrested. The BJP-ruled Centre has been accused of acting in haste and with political vendetta:

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1. Tomar’s fake law degree case is sub judice. The Delhi High Court is hearing the matter on the basis of a complaint filed by the Bar Council of Delhi. The Delhi Police, which functions under the Union home ministry, could have waited for the court’s decision and then acted accordingly. The haste with which the Delhi Police arrested Tomar has led to accusations that it was done to defame the Arvind Kejriwal government in Delhi.

2. According to reports, the FIR against Tomar was registered on Monday night. The case could have been registered even during the day. But it can be believed that it was done so as to arrest Tomar early on Tuesday night.

3. Even though the Delhi Police arrested Tomar, Delhi police commissioner BS Bassi said he did not have details regarding the arrest. Is it possible that the police chief was unaware of the arrest by his own force?

4. Just on May 27, Tomar had informed the Delhi High Court that he was a "bonafide student" for three years in a law college in Bihar and has completed his degree from there. Appearing for Tomar, his counsel AS Chandhiok informed Justice Rajiv Shakdher that the college met the standards prescribed by the Bar Council of India. He claimed that a writ petition challenging it was filed with "malafide intention to malign the good reputation" of the Bishwanath Singh Institute of Legal Study College in Munger. "So far as information regarding respondent No 5 (Tomar) are concerned, the records reveals that Jitender Singh Tomar... was a student of this college in LLB Part I, II, and III in the session 1994-95, 1995-96 and 1997-98 respectively," the affidavit filed by the Institute's principal said. What led the Delhi Police to ignore Tomar’s submission and arrive at the conclusion that he was lying?

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5. Tomar had approached the Delhi High Court to stay the proceedings of the Bar Council of Delhi. Two cases had been filed against Tomar in the court. While one accused him of enrolling himself as an advocate on the basis of a "fake and bogus" law degree, the other petition sought cancellation of his election as an MLA. While the Bishwanath Singh Institute of Legal Study College in Munger said Tomar had graduated from there, Bihar's Tilak Manjhi Bhagalpur University, from where Tomar claimed to have obtained his law degree, had earlier told the court that the provisional certificate was not "genuine" and the document "does not exist in the university's record". The university claimed that the serial number of the provisional certificate in the record showed some other person’s name. The BCD had also initiated an inquiry into the matter and issued notice to Tomar seeking his response. But the Delhi Police did not wait for Tomar to send his reply and arrested him before that.

Last updated: June 10, 2015 | 11:47
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