The Rajasthan High Court issued notice to the Centre and the state government on an ordinance that aims to protect public servants from being probed for on-duty action without prior government sanction. The Criminal Laws (Rajasthan Amendment) Ordinance 2017, was promulgated in September. The high court gave the governments one month-time to file their response.
The next hearing would be on November 27.
The court also clubbed all seven writ petitions and PILs, including the plea filed by state Congress chief Sachin Pilot against the ordinance. The Rajasthan government on Tuesday referred to a Select Committee the Criminal Laws (Rajasthan Amendment) Bill.
On Monday, ignoring criticism from various quarters, the Bharatiya Janata Party government headed by Vasundhara Raje tabled the bill in the Rajasthan Assembly. The bill seeks to protect serving and former judges, magistrates and public servants in the state from being investigated for on-duty action, without prior sanction.
It also bars the media from reporting on such accusations till the sanction to proceed with the probe is given by the government. The state government through the ordinance, made amendments in the Criminal Procedure code, 1973, and Indian Penal Code, 1980, in September.
