Punjab ‘desecration’ row: Panel ready with report, but made to wait for over an hour to submit it

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Justice (retd) Jora Singh, who headed the one-man Commission, was to hand over the report to Punjab Chief Secretary Sarvesh Kaushal Thursday, the last day of the commission. Singh had been told that since the chief secretary would not be available, he should hand over the report to Kaushal’s OSD, M S Bedi. But when he arrived at Bedi’s office on the sixth floor of the Secretariat at the appointed hour, he found it locked. It was only after an hour’s wait and several phone calls that an official of suitable rank, Special Secretary (Protocol) Rajeev Prashar, appeared to accept the report from Singh.

As the hour-long drama unfolded, Singh remained calm as he waited for 15 minutes outside locked rooms and later in the visitor’s room. “This is India, this is how it goes here,” he said at one point. The Indian Express was an eyewitness to the entire episode.

Singh, accompanied by commission registrar, S S Sain, and three other staff members, reached the Civil Secretariat at about 6:25 pm. Singh and Sain said they were told to submit the report to Bedi at 6:30 pm as the chief secretary was not available. Holding the 51-page report in his hand, Singh went with his team to Bedi’s office, but found all the offices in that section locked.

As his staff made frantic calls, he waited, first in the corridor and then in the visitor’s room. “I travelled 300 km to submit the report,” he was heard saying.

Later a clerk from the control room arrived and said he had “instructions” to receive the report. He was turned away by Sain, who told him that a Justice (retd) handing a commission report to a clerk “would not look good”. Jora Singh also refused to hand over the report to an official of the protocol department, who showed up later. When Special Secretary, Protocol, Rajeev Prashar came seeking the report, the retired judge asked for Bedi. After being told that Prashar was an IAS officer of a suitable rank, Singh finally submitted the report to him at about 7:30 pm.

Earlier, while leaving his office at 5.30 pm, Chief Secretary Sarvesh Kaushal had told The Indian Express that he was not sure if the commission had submitted the report or if it was to be submitted later today.

Later in the evening, he sent a text message to say: “Received in my office in sealed cover at 7 pm. Yet to see.”