EXTERNMENT CASES

Home secy to be replaced as appellate authority: State

Rosy Sequeira TNN 

Mumbai: The state government told the Bombay HC on Tuesday that it is replacing Vineet Agarwal, home secretary (special), as appellate authority in externment matters. 
    A division bench of Justice SC Dharmadhikari and Justice Gautam Patel was informed by advocate general Darius Khambata that the government will “appoint a secretary in the said department and designate him as appellate authority”. Khambata said it will take some time but in the mean time, the additional chief secretary (home) will hear applications for stay of externment orders until a new officer takes charge. 
    On Monday, the judges were furious after they read Agarwal’s letter sent to the prosecutor saying he has written to the government that he does not wish to continue as appellate 
authority. Khambata said after the court’s previous orders, he and prosecutor Aruna Pai had explained to Agarwal his duties as an appellate authority and had even written a detailed note stating all requirements of an appellate authority. “We thought this would get the train back on the track,” said Khambata, adding that it was followed by Agarwal’s letter. 
    In their order, the judges said that in his letter, Agarwal had “insisted that he had not committed any error and it was possibly some misunderstanding that led to this court repeatedly quashing and setting aside his orders”. The judges said they were “disturbed” by it. 
    They said the court’s prime concern was that the appellate authority follows the rule of law and abides by all precedents laid down by the Supreme Court and the HC. The judges said based on the apex and high court orders , legal submissions, infirmities in facts and extension orders were pointed out to Agarwal , “however, he continued to brush aside the legal submissions and contentions of advocates and passed the same stereotype, cryptic and mechanical orders”.


Source::: The Times of India, 25-09-2013, p.04, http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Client.asp?Daily=TOIM&showST=true&login=default&pub=TOI&Enter=true&Skin=TOINEW