PIL filed against 26/11 bullet proof jackets

A public interest litigation PIL has been filed before the Bombay High Court on Friday against the bulletproof jackets used by Mumbai poice during 2611 The PIL states that the jacketsu00a0were of inferior qualityAdvocate Y P Singh filed the petition on behalf of the social worker petitioner Sanjay DaundkarAs per the PIL bullets fired by terrorists on 26 November 2008 pierced these substandard jackets leading to thedeath of three brave police officers Hemant Karkare Ashok Kamte and Vijay Salaskar We want justice for the death of senior police officials JT CP Hemant Karkare Additional CP Ashok Kamte and encounter specialist Vijay Salaskar to ensure that the heartless corruption which happens rampantly in the procurement of bullet proof jackets is accounted forTransparency is the primary ingredient of police efficiency on which the happiness of the society is depended said IPS officer turned lawyer Y P SinghThe matter will come up for hearing before the PIL bench after the court reopens afterDiwali vacation on November 5The petition states that as the government refrained from taking appropriate action for enforcing accountability of the officers for this merciless act of corruption and the petitioner has carried out his own probe and has found disturbing factsu00a0 DateEVENTSUpto 1978The Central Stores Purchase Organisation Government of Maharashtra issued manual for Office Procedure For Purchase Of Stores By the Government Departments This Manual prescribes procedures for effecting purchases in Government Departments Office of the Commissioner of Police was required to follow the procedures contained therein2nd January 2002Further instructions were issued through a Government Resolution by the Industry Energy and Labour Department stipulating additional conditions for effecting purchases2001 2002Funds were provided by the Central Government for the police modernisation Inter alia it was decided to procure 55 Nos BulletProof Jackets for the police officers fighting terrorists and criminals 6th December 2001A tender enquiry was issued by the purchase cell by the Commissioner of Police Mumbai to buy BulletProof Jackets3rd January 2002NTB Hi Tech Ceramics a firm from Pune submitted quotation 30th March 2002A letter indicating provisional acceptance of the tender of NTB Hi Tech Ceramics was issued This was subject to approval of various conditions 30th March 2002A proforma invoice indicating that the material had been despatched was intriguingly issued on 3032002 itself ie on the date when the tentative acceptance of tender letter was issued 4th June 2002The tender was finally accepted and order was placed for the supply of 55 Nos Bullet Proof JacketsAprilJune 2002The order of supply of 55 Nos BulletProof Jackets was enhanced to 110 nos by ordering an additional 55 Nos jackets bearing an additional value of Rs 1235 lakh This was against rules20022004110 bulletproof jackets were supplied which were accepted even though they were of poor quality Payments were also made accordingly to the tune of Rs 2471 lakh2004The BulletProof Jackets were tested and found substandard Accordingly it was decided to return the jackets and the payment recovered 2nd September 2004An amount of Rs 2471 lakh was recovered from the supplier NTB Hi Tech Ceramics and the amount deposited with the Reserve Bank of India September to December 2004NTB Hi Tech Ceramics resupplied the goods The said goods were regarded as of proper quality and it was decided to accept the goods and to make the payments again These jackets during the 2611 attacks failed completely and which revealed that they were of substandard nature7th January 2005A bill was prepared and the same was submitted to government treasury for withdrawing the amount14th July 2005The state treasury issued a cheque for an amount of Rs 2471 lakh and the same was handed over to Ms NTB Hi Tech Ceramics 26th November 2008 Terrorists attacked the city of Mumbai in a big way These BulletProof Jackets were worn by the senior police officers under the impression that they would be able to fight the terrorists with adequate protection However when the terrorists fired at the cops who were under the impression that they were safe with such vests the bullets pierced through the said vests killing three officers namely Shri Hemant Karkare Shri Ashok Kamte and Shri Vijay Salaskar8th December 20081The Petitioner filed an application under the Right to Information Act 2005 calling for the copy of the file of the purchase of the BulletProof Jackets 15th December 2008Since the matter was relating to the question of life of people as such under the 71 of the RTI it was requested to provide information within 48 hours 17th December 2008The request to supply information within 48 hours was denied However it was said that the information would be given in 30 daysu00e2u0080u2122 time ie around 1012009January to April 2009The Petitioner pursued the matter with the Commissioner of Police for providing information However no such information was provided during the stipulated time of 30 days 24th April 2009Commissioner of Police informed that the file was lost and hence the information could not be provided 29th May 2009The Petitioner filed an additional application for obtaining information10th September 2009The Petitioner was informed by the PIO that some information could be given from other related desks in the office of the Commissioner of Police3rd week of September 2009The Petitioner got some skeletal information from Accounts Department relating to disbursement of the amount The skeletal papers indicated a big fraud happened in the purchase of the said jacketsJune 2009Without doing any enquiry into the matter the Chief Minister declared that there was no irregularity in the matter related to the bulletproof jackets and the charges were baseless He dismissed all reports in this referenceNotwithstanding the fact that this sensitive file has been lost which contained highly incriminating information against senior public servants and that the impugned purchase was replete with blatant violation of prescribed rules yet the Government has not taken any action in the matter On the contrary they have gone all out to protect the delinquent officersSince in this matter senior police officers have lost their lives and yet the administration is completely insensitive to the apparent eloquent evidence the petitioner in his petition has demanded the followingA THAT a proper enquiry be ordered so that the delinquent public servants are brought within the realm of accountability imposed through criminal civil and administrative laws In this sequence either an independent enquiry committee be setup or else the matter handed over to the CBI for investigationB THAT the Commissioner of Police be ordered to take action under section 7 of the Maharashtra Public Records Act 2005 and to take steps for the recovery of this lost sensitive file on bulletproof jacketsC THAT the said BulletProof Jackets tested by a neutral authorities such as the DRDO or the army or by honest officers in the police at their firing range and to check if they complied with the prescribed specifications or otherwise and then to take action against the responsible officers if the same are found substandardD THAT these killer bulletproof jackets be taken out from use at once by the Commissioner of Police since they provide armour only to half of the chest and stomach and that they do not cover the neck full chest and groin which is a requirement as per the specifications E THAT compensation be provided at the cost of the delinquent officers and private persons for the families of those who lost their lives because of the grave acts of omission and commission by such delinquent public servants and private personsF THAT the Respondent No2 be ordered to place all the delinquent officers under suspension till the time the enquiry in the case is over