—Amar Singh Chahal (lawyer and member of Lawyers for Human Rights International) has just been interviewed on Sangat TV and has said LFHRI has today made an application to the Punjab and Haryana High Court to dismiss the case/conviction in the Beant Singh case against Rajoana and all the other Singhs on the basis the whole case is tainted by unfair process and is unsafe as Rajan Malhotra the prosecution lawyer throughtout the case is not a CBI lawyer and was never appointed by the CBI in this case! The Court has ordered the CBI to respond to the application by 30 March 2012. Chahal was suggesting the conviction should now be quashed but could also result in a re-trial.
The information regarding Malhotra was obtained as a result of a freedom of information request from the CBI. Chahal also said criminal proceedings should be commenced against Malhotra.
LFHRI is already involved in the case as it is currently appealing to the Supreme Court against the dismissal of its petition to the Punjab and Haryana High Court to stay the execution of Rajoana. The petition was dismissed by the High Court on the basis LFHRI had no locus standi to make the application.
It is ironic that Malhotra was objecting to the locus standing of the Patiala Jail Superintendant in the courts and in the application made by the LFHRI when he does not appear to have any himself! The question naturally arises, if Malhotra was not appointed by the CBI, by whom was he appointed?
For more infomation on LFHRI see http://www.lfhri.org/
