The Jharkhand High Court has clarified that issuing a summons does not mean a person is guilty, in an order on the JSSC CGL recruitment case.
Justice Deepak Roshan said investigating agencies may need to summon many people to reach a logical conclusion, and a summons should not lead to anyone being treated as culpable.
The bench expressed concern that innocent candidates were being repeatedly summoned and harassed under the guise of investigation.
It directed that no successful candidate should face mental or administrative distress during the inquiry, while asking candidates to cooperate with the SIT.
Retired judge Gautam Kumar Chaudhary will monitor the SIT probe, with a retired IPS officer as nodal officer.
Justice Deepak Roshan made the remarks at the September 18 hearing in the case titled Subhash Murmu and others versus the State of Jharkhand.
The court said investigating agencies may need to summon many people in order to reach a logical conclusion, and receiving a summons should not lead to that person being treated as guilty.
Petitioners had told the court that the SIT was repeatedly questioning several innocent students and that monitoring was needed to prevent unnecessary harassment.
The bench expressed concern that innocent candidates were being repeatedly summoned and harassed under the guise of investigation, according to AajTak.
The court directed that no successful candidate should face mental or administrative distress during the inquiry.
Candidates were also told to cooperate with the investigation while being protected from exploitation.
Retired High Court judge Gautam Kumar Chaudhary has been appointed to monitor the SIT investigation and to hear complaints from candidates.
A retired IPS officer, named in reports as R.K. Malik, has been designated nodal officer to coordinate between the SIT and Justice Chaudhary.
The monitoring arrangement operates independently of the court’s own proceedings and is meant to keep the investigation transparent.
Jharkhand Police flag (representative image), Wikimedia Commons, CC0
