Delhi Principal Home Secretary summoned

New Delhi, Mar 20 (UNI) The Delhi High Court today summoned the Principal Home Secretary of Delhi Government in person to state the reasons for not filling up the posts at Forensic Science Laboratory-(CFL), which is hampering the investigation of the criminal cases in the Capital.

A division bench of Justice T S Thakur and Justice S N Agrawal directed O P Kelkar, the Delhi Home Secretary, to be present on March 22 to reply to the queries of the court.

While hearing a PIL on the insufficient facilities at FSLs all over the country, the bench observed the investigation of the cases were hampered due to delay in procuring forensic reports from the laboratories.

When the Delhi Government Counsel submitted that the FSL of the Delhi Government at Rohini did not have suffacient staff, the court said, ''How could a laboratory operate without staff?'' The Counsel said it was trying to procure staff on deputation from other departments. But the court said, ''How could other departments release their staff, when there is scarcity everywhere?'' The Central and state governments should fill up the vacancies in the FSLs all over the country for a thorough investigation of criminal cases, the court said.

''Let's fill the vacancies first, then we will take care of infrastructure and additional facilities,'' the court observed.

The court had taken suo motu cognisance of a news report on shrotage of staff and lack of infrastructure in FSLs of state and Central Forensic Science Laboratories (CFSL) and issued notices to the Union Government and Delhi Government.

UNI