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Capt gets pre-arrest bail Chandigarh, July 30 This in effect means that the interim relief granted to the former Chief Minister, through the High Court order dated April 5, whereby he was granted interim bail till today, has been made absolute. “If need so arises, the petitioner No.-1 (Amarinder) would apply for regular bail on presentation of a challan and this order shall continue till then. The petition is allowed,” the judge pronounced in the open court. Also, the judge pronounced that nothing was alleged against Capt Amarinder Singh’s wife Preneet Kaur, petitioner No.-2, and no prayer had been made for her requirement for investigation. If she was needed in this case (Ludhiana City Centre case) in future, she should be given a 10-day notice in advance. Meanwhile, Capt Amarinder Singh, talking to The Tribune over the phone, expressed his gratitude towards the judiciary and welcomed the order. “I have great regard for the judiciary. Our stand on political vendetta has been vindicated and I must say my faith in the Indian judiciary has been emboldened,” he emphasised. Punjab advocate-general H.S. Mattewal said he would peruse the 48-page order and decide accordingly whether to move the apex court or not. Importantly, the judge observed that taking into consideration the totality of facts and law as discussed in detail, he was of the view that the petitioners had made out a case for grant of pre-arrest bail under Section 438 of the CrPC. It was also observed that the prosecution had not been able to justify the need for custodial interrogation of Capt Amarinder Singh. Not concurring with the prosecution’s submission that pre-arrest bail should be for limited duration of few days and the petitioners should approach the regular court, the judge said it would amount to doing injustice to the legal provisions of the Section. Even as Capt Amarinder Singh and his wife were granted relief, the order was particularly scathing in questioning the motives of the investigating officer (IO).“The IO appears to have made a conscious effort to be evasive with regard to an affidavit he was told to file indicating what all material, referred to in the SLP filed by Punjab before the apex court, was not available on record of the present petition at the time of passing of interim order, dated April 5,” the order stated. The judge also observed that the IO seemed to convey that the statement made by Chetan Gupta was the only material which was not available when the court made the interim order. Expressing displeasure with the approach of the IO, the judge stated that there was additional material which was “unfairly” placed on the record of the SLP without the same being made available to this court. Further, examples were cited in the order to buttress the fact that the IO and the state were clearly attempting to “mislead” the court. “The IO is an officer of the rank of the SP and is not a fresher who can be asked to sign on a dotted line. He has been found utterly casual in another case connected with this FIR,” the judge added.
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