Justice Darshan Singh, who convicted KPS Gill, retires

Saurabh Malik

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 6

Justice Darshan Singh, who convicted Punjab’s former Director General of Police KPS Gill in a case of outraging the modesty of a woman, was given a warm send-off today after he retired upon attaining the age of superannuation.

Then a Chief Judicial Magistrate posted at Chandigarh, Justice Darshan Singh had slapped three-month imprisonment and a fine of Rs 700 on Gill after convicting him.

In his 81-page order pronounced way back in 1996, Justice Darshan Singh had dismissed the defence of the accused after describing then senior Punjab IAS officer Rupan Deol Bajaj’s testimony as "wholly credible and worthy of credit". The order had added: "Such type of testimony can be even acted upon without corroboration in such molestation cases."

The former Punjab Police chief was found guilty by the Chief Judicial Magistrate under Section 354 for outraging the modesty of a woman while he was allegedly in an inebriated condition at a party hosted by then Finance Commissioner (Home) SL Kapur at his residence in July 1988.

The Sessions Court had, subsequently, maintained the sentence, but had kept it suspended during a “probation” period of three years, during which Gill’s public behaviour was to be supervised by a probation officer.

The High Court, in its order on August 20, 1998, made some modifications in the sentence. It removed the condition of supervision by the probation officer and reduced the period of probation to a year, which ended on January 5, 1999. The Punjab and Haryana High Court judgment was, subsequently, upheld by the Supreme Court. Considered an old hand in criminal laws, Justice Darshan Singh was sharing the Bench with Justice SS Saron, which was hearing petitions filed in public interests and other issues of vital importance.

Justice Darshan Singh graduated in commerce from Patiala before doing his LLB from Kurukshetra  University. He joined as Assistant District Attorney before his selection in the Haryana Judicial Services.  He was designated Additional District and Sessions Judge in 1998 before he was designated District and Sessions Judge. He was elevated as an Additional Judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in September 2014.