Special Judge Anu Grover Baliga, appointed to the fast-track court set up to hear paper leak cases, has been transferred. She was appointed to this post merely a week ago. Amid nationwide protests against paper leaks and demands for the resignation of then Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced that a special fast-track court would be set up to hear such cases.
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Saturday (August 1) transferred Special Judge Anu Grover Baliga. She was appointed just a week ago to handle the responsibilities of the fast-track court created for hearing paper leak cases.
According to a Times of India report, her transfer is said to be part of a routine process involving the transfer of 138 judicial officers.
Notably, the High Court had designated a special court on July 23 to hear criminal cases related to paper leaks and other irregularities in public examinations. Following this, Judge Baliga took charge of the court's operations on July 25.
According to the Delhi High Court transfer order, Judge Baliga has been posted to a special court constituted under the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Act, which hears terrorism-related cases.
According to the report, Special Judges Vikas Dhull, Prashant Sharma, Pulastya Pramachala, Kiran Bansal, and Amit Bansal have also been transferred to the NIA court. Special Judge Ajay Gupta, who was earlier hearing paper leak-related cases including NEET, will now take over the operations of the fast-track court in place of Judge Baliga.
Notably, amid widespread nationwide protests against paper leaks and demands for the resignation of then Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced that a special fast-track court would be established to hear such cases.
This fast-track court was established at Delhi's Rouse Avenue Court to hear cases under the ‘Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Rules, 2024’ and related offenses, with instructions that all cases registered under this law would be transferred to this court.
However, The Wire had previously reported that proceedings on the first day of the fast-track court on July 27 were disrupted because the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is investigating another paper leak case, failed to appear during the first hearing. Two bail applications in the case were scheduled to be heard that day.
The hearing was adjourned at the request of the defense counsel. The matter is now listed for August 3 for consideration of the CBI's chargesheet and the bail applications of two accused.
Notably, the ‘Cockroach Janata Party’ (CJP), leading the movement against ongoing irregularities in competitive examinations, called the fast-track court merely a ‘stopgap’ or ‘band-aid’ measure.
It is worth noting that former Union Minister and Congress Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh had also criticized the government's decision to set up a fast-track court as a solution to the paper leak crisis.
Congress leader Ramesh wrote on X, "With what face is the Modi government touting fast-track courts as a solution to the paper leak crisis? Its own CBI is taking no serious initiative in the investigation and prosecution of these cases."
