Court orders registration of FIR against MLA Simarjit Singh Bains on rape charges

Rajneesh Lakhanpal
Legal Correspondent
Ludhiana, July 7

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The Court of Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Harsimranjit Singh has ordered the local police to register an FIR against Lok Insaaf Party chief Simrajit Singh Bains, MLA from Atam Nagar constituency, on the complaint of a 44-year-old woman.

“Extreme circumstances call for extreme measures. Extreme indeed, are the circumstances in this case at hand. The unsuspecting victim is a hapless woman stricken by adversity who was unabashedly exploited by the so-called saviour and his coterie. With the first responder, police agency having turned a blind eye to her hideous abuse, she knocked the door of the court.

“The real cause of concern of this court is whether a miserable and poor victim of sexual exploitation be expected to get justice by lodging the private complaint and collecting evidence from a place alien to her and against the perpetrators who are might, powerful and resourceful. In case the directions for registering of case is not made, the entire case of complainant would crumble and it would tantamount to failure of justice,” added court while pronouncing the order.

On November 16, 2020, the woman had moved an handwritten application to the Commissioner of Police Ludhiana for registration of an FIR against MLA Bains, Kamaljit Singh, Baljinder Kaur, Jasbir Kaur alias Bhabhi, Sukhchain Singh, Paramjit Singh alias Pamma, Gogi Sharma of Ludhiana. She continuously sat on dharna for a long period outside Commissioner of Police office seeking justice.

But when no FIR was registered, the woman moved to a local court seeking directions for registration of FIR.

But the Court of Judicial Magistrate Palwinder Singh did not agree with the contentions of woman and ordered her to lead evidence in the court.

Against that order, the woman had filed the revision petition before the Court of Additional Sessions Judge Raj Kumar Garg, who had set aside the order of the lower court with the directions to reconsider and pass fresh orders.

Now convinced with arguments of lawyers Harish Rai Dhanda and Paraminder Singh Laddi, the court today passed orders for lodging of FIR and investigate.

In its complaint, the woman has alleged that she came into contact with the MLA in a property dispute but she was trapped.

She claimed to have received repeated phone calls and numerous WhatsApp messages soliciting physical relationship with her and raped repeatedly.

The woman has alleged that taking advantage of her social and economic vulnerability, Bains raped her repeatedly on the pretext of helping her.

She also alleged that the MLA’s brother also started making repeated calls and numerous WhatsApp messages soliciting physical relationship with her.

According to the petitioner, her brother and father were being constantly threatened on the phone and also approached personally by the MLA’s close aides.

Alleging that no action has been taken on her complaint, the petitioner submitted that the Punjab government and police are providing patronage to the MLA due to his political clout.

An application under Section 166-A (public servant intentionally disobeying law) of IPC moved by the woman seeking FIR against Commissioner of Police, Joint Commissioner Ashwani Gotyal and SHO for not acting as per law is also pending in the same court for July 15.