The Vasundhara Raje government has passed an ordinance which shields both serving and former judges, magistrates, and public servants in Rajasthan from being investigated regarding on-duty action – ie, while acting or purporting to act in the discharge of their official duties – without its prior sanction.
The Criminal Laws (Rajasthan Amendment) Ordinance 2017, promulgated on 7 September, also puts a bar on the media from reporting the accusations till the sanction to proceed with the probe is obtained.
"No magistrate shall order an investigation nor will any investigation be conducted against a person, who is or was a judge or a magistrate or a public servant," reads the ordinance which will be in force for 6 months.
If there is no decision on the sanction request post the stipulated time period, it will automatically come into force.
The ordinance amends the Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 (CrPC) and also seeks to curb publishing and printing or publicising in any case the name, address, photograph, family details of the public servants.
In furtherance of this, they also added a new offence under the Indian Penal Code 1860 (IPC), applicable to Rajasthan during the validity of the ordinance. Under this new section 228B, a person who discloses the identity of the judges, magistrates, or public servants being so investigated, can face two years' imprisonment and/or be liable to pay a sum of money as a fine.
Ordinance passed by Rajasthan government by The Quint on Scribd
(With inputs from PTI)
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