NEW DELHI, Jan 10:
The Centre would appoint in a “day or two” a judge to head the judicial commission of inquiry into charges of spying on a woman in 2009 allegedly at the behest of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
“We will appoint a judge very soon. The decision will be made in a day or two,” Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said today and denied reports that no judge is willing to head the inquiry.
The Commission, to be headed by a retired Supreme Court judge, will also look into charges of snooping on Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh by the previous BJP Government when he was in the opposition as well as the leaking of the Call Data Records (CDR) of BJP leader Arun Jaitley in Delhi.
“It is not correct that judges are unwilling to take this responsibility. There are some problems… But we will do it soon,” he said while replying to queries at his monthly press conference and added that he has written to the law department.
“I have also spoken to Law Minister (Kapil Sibal) and we will do it soon,” he said.
Wading into the raging political controversy, the Union Cabinet had last month decided to set up a Judicial Commission of Inquiry to probe charges of illegal surveillance on a young woman in 2009 by Gujarat authorities on direction of Modi.
Notwithstanding opposition from BJP over the issue, the Union Cabinet took the decision under the Commissions of Inquiry Act under which the Modi Government has already set up a similar panel. (PTI)