The apex court also asked the Punjab Police, Special Protection Group (SPG), and all other concerned authorities to assist the registrar general in any way they can. “We direct the registrar general to keep all records in safe custody,” the court’s order read, according to Bar & Bench.
The Supreme Court ruled on Friday that the Punjab High Court must store and preserve all records related to PM Modi’s travel in the state following a security breach during his visit.
As well, the apex court directed the Punjab Police, Special Protection Group (SPG) and all other concerned authorities to assist the registrar general whenever necessary. “We direct the registrar general to keep all records in his safe custody,” the court’s order stated, according to Bar & Bench. Live Law reported that the court orally instructed the state and federal governments to put their independent investigations on hold until next Monday.
On Wednesday, the court heard a petition seeking an investigation into the security breach in Punjab, during which the prime minister was stranded on the Ludhiana-Ferozepur highway for about 15-20 minutes.
The petition cited reports that the chief secretary or DGP, or their nominees, of the visiting state were supposed to accompany the motorcade as per protocol, yet neither the chief secretary representative nor the DGP was accompanying the motorcade during the movement of the PM.
Both the ruling Congress government in Punjab and the Ministry of Home Affairs formed committees to investigate the incident earlier this week.Â
Punjab government officials claim the last-minute disruption by protesters was one factor that contributed to the breach, but letters from the Punjab Police headquarters to district police officers warned police officials that protesters might block roads and urged them to make adequate security arrangements for the PM’s visit to Ferozepur.