Decide case soon, HC tells trial court

Saurabh Malik

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 30

A day after a Gurdaspur court adjourned the hearing in Gikki murder case to August 3, the Punjab and Haryana High Court today directed it to decide the matter at the earliest.

The direction by Justice Anita Chaudhary assumes significance as the high court in a previous order had directed day-to-day proceedings in the matter while making it clear that the defence would not “seek any further time or adjournment”.

But the hearing was adjourned after prime accused Ram Simran Singh Makkar and other accused pleaded innocence on Wednesday when judgment in the four-year-old case was expected to be delivered.

The accused in a written submission said: “In case of the argument of being innocent is not accepted by the court, the accused should be convicted under Section 304 of the IPC (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and not under Section 302 of the IPC (murder).”

As the case came up for resumed hearing, the Bench gave the complainant and the prosecution time till August 1 to file reply for enabling the trial court to proceed with the matter on the adjourned date. Justice Chaudhary also fixed August 24 as the next date of hearing in the matter pending before the high court.

The developments took place more than four years after Gurkirat Sekhon aka Gikki of Jalandhar was shot in cold blood allegedly by “influential political persons”. The incident had allegedly taken place in front of his father on April 21, 2011.

The case is an embarrassment for the SAD-led government as the young hotelier from Jalandhar, Gikki, was allegedly murdered by former MLA Sarabjit Makkar’s nephew Ram Simran Singh Makkar aka Prince Makkar, who was also a SAD councillor.

The prosecution story is that Rajbir Singh Sekhon saw Gikki standing near the main road along with one Sukhdev Singh after he reached Baba Rasoi Dhaba in Jalandhar’s Model Town at 12.45 am on the intervening night of April 20 and 21, 2011.

At that time, accused Amarpreet Singh along with Amardeep Singh, Ram Simran Singh Makkar and Jasdeep Singh were “present there and were angry with his son”.

The prosecution claimed Amardeep Singh took out his revolver and started fighting with Gikki. Amarpreet Singh and Jasdeep Singh raised a “lalkara” (instigated) and Makkar took out his revolver and fired at the back of Gikki. He did not live long to reach the hospital.