Pul’s wife withdraws letter to CJI

Dangwimsai Pul

New Delhi, Feb 23 – Dangwimsai Pul, wife of the late Arunachal Chief Minister Kalikho Pul, on Thursday withdrew her letter to Chief Justice of India J.S. Khehar, saying the Supreme Court has no business to deal with her letter on the judicial side.

She said the letter should have been dealt with on the administrative side.

Senior counsel Dushyant Dave, representing her, indicated Dangwimsai may approach Vice President Hamid Ansari to look into the matter as President Pranab Mukherjee too finds a mention in her husband’s suicide note.

Dangwimsai in her letter to Chief Justice Khehar had alleged corruption by politicians and a few higher judiciary functionaries.

A bench of Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel and Justice Uday Umesh Lalit allowed Dangwimsai to withdrew her letter, as her counsel Dushyant Dave said they should recuse from hearing the matter as the same cannot be heard on the judicial side.

Dangwimsai had written the letter to the Chief Justice of India to seek permission to lodge an FIR on the basis of a suicide note allegedly written by Kalikho Pul before his death on August 9 last year.

Dave wanted to know on whose instructions the court Registry had listed the letter for hearing before the bench when it was meant to be dealt with on administrative side.

He questioned how the letter was listed for hearing in court number 13 and not court numbers 3, 4 or 5.

Dave said while a seven-judge bench is hearing the case of Kolkata High Court’s Justice C.S. Karnan, the instant case that names certain judicial functionaries was listed before a two-judge bench.

The senior counsel referred to a Constitution Bench judgment to buttress his point, saying all such communication (letter) should be dealt with on the administrative side.

Kalikho Pul was found dead on August 9, 2016, at his official residence in Arunachal Pradesh capital Itanagar. He left behind a 60-page note in which he accused several top politicians and Supreme Court Judges of seeking bribe.

Earlier, Dangwimsai, the first wife of Pul, demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the case. She claimed the Arunachal Pradesh government was not interested in probing Pul’s death.