Deepali Kalia-
Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice N. V. Ramana dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) which sought for the declaration of commission of a breach of oath by General (Rtd.) VK Singh, Union Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways and former Indian Army Chief for allegedly making unwelcoming remarks on the India and China Line of Actual Control (LAC) situation.
“Somebody does not approve of comments made by a minister and so the solution is to file a petition in the Court to remove them? If he has done something, it is for the Prime Minister to act if it is inappropriate. The Court cannot pass any orders”, Chief Justice Ramana stated during the hearing.
The PIL was filed by activist Chandrasekaran Ramasamy who stated that the Union Minister had made remarks against the Indian armed forces in his speech on 7th February 2021 in Madurai, Tamil Nadu on the LAC issue in which Singh had allegedly said “None of you come to know how many times we have transgressed as per our perception. We don’t announce it. Chinese media does not cover it… Let me assure you, if China has transgressed 10 times, we must have done it at least 50 times, as per our perception.”
The petitioner stated that following the speech made by the former Army Chief, Chinese Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson had called it an “unwitting confession by Indian side.”
“There was no immediate response from Indian officials to the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson’s comments. Mr. VK Singh’s ”unwitting confession’ on LAC situation weakens India’s global position, gives China chance to counter India. His comments also assume significance amidst the backdrop of the on-going border tensions due to which around 1 lakh Indian and Chinese troops are deployed in eastern Ladakh, and both sides are showing indications of having dug in for the long haul.” The plea stated.
It was contended by the petitioner that VK Singh had failed to maintain the secrecy of his path and should therefore voluntarily resign from his post.“Unfortunately, if either the voluntary resigning or removal of the government Minister post does not happen it is begged before the honourable Supreme Court of India to initiate suitable action against him as per the anti-national law and set standard to people in higher position what and how to speak and give statements carefully and correctly.” The petition added.