Kotkapura, Behbal Kalan police firing cases: Court raps accused, prosecution for unnecessary adjournments

Tribune News Service

Faridkot, February 6

The court of Additional Sessions Judge Faridkot has rapped the prosecution and accused for seeking repeated adjournments in Kotkapura and Behbal Kalan police firing cases of 2015.

“This is made clear again to both parties that no unnecessary adjournment at the whims of a party will be given,” said Rajiv Kalra, Additional Sessions Judge, while adjourning the case to February 13.

“Despite the parties being cautioned on January 29 for preparing their arguments for the purpose of framing of charges and replies to the interim applications moved by the accused for dropping the proceedings, an adjournment has again been sought without assigning any appropriate reason,” said the court.

On January 29, former Faridkot Senior Superintendent of Police Sukhminder Singh Maan had approached the court to drop proceedings against him in the case. He claimed as there was no previous sanction from the state government for his prosecution in this case, so the proceedings need to be dropped against him.

Earlier on December 2, 2023, a similar application was moved on behalf of Charanjit Singh Sharma, former Senior Superintendent of Police, Moga, to drop the proceedings while rejecting the challan and supplementary challan furnished by the police in the Kotkapura police firing case.

On February 5, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Paramraj Singh Umaranangal has also moved similar application for dropping the proceedings for want of sanction. While Sharma and Umranangal are accused in Kotkapura and Behbal Kalan police firing cases, Mann is accused in Kotkapura case.

These accused police officers claimed that the challan and supplementary challans furnished by the police in these cases need to be rejected as the trial court had taken cognisance of the case without the previous sanction of the state government as envisioned by Section 197 (2) read with Section 197 (3) of the CrPC. Whenever a person is accused of committing an offence while acting or purporting to act in the discharge of his official duty, the sanction under Section 197 is compulsory, they claimed.

The accused has also urged the court to direct the prosecution to point out relevant records of the charge-sheet, relied upon by it at the charge-framing stage for proper adjudication of the aspect relating to framing of charges.

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