HC extends stay on Punjab's former DGP Sumedh Singh Saini's arrest

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 25

Less than a month after Punjab’s former DGP Sumedh Singh Saini was directed to join the investigation in a cheating, forgery and corruption case registered against him while staying his arrest in the matter, the Punjab and Haryana High Court today directed the continuation of the interim order.

As the case came up for resumed hearing, Justice Avneesh Jhingan adjourned the hearing of the case to September 14 on the state counsel’s request. Saini had filed the anticipatory bail petition through counsel SPS Sidhu.

The matter was placed before Justice Jhingan after a Mohali court earlier dismissed Saini’s bail application in the case pertaining to the purchase of Sector 20 property. An FIR in the matter was registered in September 2020 at the Mohali police station under Sections 409, 420, 467, 468, 471 and 120-B of the IPC and the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Dismissing the plea, the Mohali court had, among other things, observed: “This court is of the considered view that there are serious allegations against the applicant/accused to the effect that he in connivance with his co-accused Surinderjit Singh Jaspal, has forged and fabricated the agreement to sell dated October 2, 2019, in order to save House No. 3048, Sector 20-D, Chandigarh, from attachment. Further, it seems that the execution of the agreement is shrouded by suspicious circumstances, as it has been shown to be prepared on a plain paper without any attesting witness….”

Sidhu contended all that the petitioner had done was to take a house on rent from one of the accused and later having entered into an agreement to purchase the same. All transactions were through banks and duly accounted for. “Due to political vendetta and malafide the petitioner was first implicated in an FIR and when he got interim protection from the HC, the same transaction was transposed to the present FIR. The vendetta went to such a level that the state stooped to make an illegal detention and that too, when he went to the Vigilance police station to join the probe as per directions of HC,” Sidhu had added.

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