New Delhi: A Delhi court on Friday came down heavily on Central Bureau of Investigation (industrial and commercial bank) used the term “Southern Bloc” multiple times in its charge sheet while freeing the former chief minister Arvind Kejriwalformer education minister Manish Sisodia and 21 others involved in the liquor policy case.The court said the nomenclature had no legal basis and warned the agency to exercise restraint in its choice of language in the investigation narrative.
special judges Jitendra Singh “The court finds it necessary to place on record its concern that the term ‘Southern Group’ was repeatedly and deliberately used by the investigating agency to describe a group of accused, ostensibly on the basis of regional origin or place of residence,” it said.“Equally important, no similar regional description was used for the remaining accused. There is no mention of any ‘Northern Group’ or similar classification in the prosecution narrative. Therefore, the selective adoption of geographically defined labels is clearly arbitrary and unwarranted,” he added, as quoted by news agency PTI.The court also said region-based labeling could be biased and inconsistent with constitutional principles.“Despite the lack of any legally sustainable basis, the continued use of this label does carry the risk of affecting perception, causing unintended bias and diverting attention from the evidentiary material which itself must guide the adjudication,” the report said.observed that the issue was not merely one of semantics, adding, “Identity-based labels, whether race, nationality or regional origin, cannot be used as shorthand for prosecution in circumstances unrelated to the crime. This labeling is not just an irregularity in expression, it constitutes a constitutional flaw that can undermine the fairness of the proceedings themselves.“Justice Jitendra Singh asked the central agency to “be more careful, cautious and restrained” in drafting the charge sheet and investigation narrative. “The description of the accused must remain strictly neutral, evidence-based and must not be stigmatizing, divisive or derogatory in expressions,” he said, adding that the use of such terms violated constitutional provisions.He added: “Insistence on such nomenclature risks undermining due process of law and is best avoided in the interests of fair and constitutional administration of criminal justice.”
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