HC refuses to shift probe in Dhadrianwale case

Taking up a petition seeking the registration of a murder case against Baba Ranjit Singh Dhadrianwale, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has allowed the local police to investigate the matter after refraining from transferring the case to an independent agency “for the time being”.

“This court, for the time being, refrains from handing over investigation of the case to any independent agency and allows the local police to conduct investigation by filing appropriate compliance report of various steps taken in the investigation to the jurisdictional magistrate. If the jurisdictional magistrate finds any of the reports amiss, the officer is directed to send a report to this court…,” the Bench asserted.

The court observed the matter revolved around the non-registration of an FIR, despite furnishing information of cognisable offences to the police. “The information was given way back in 2012, but the FIR was registered in December this year on the insistence of this court,” the court asserted.

Before disposing of the petition filed through counsel Navneet Kaur Waraich, the court also took note of petitioner-complainant’s submissions that he had “no trust in the local police authorities” as he apprehended the probe would not be carried out in a free and fair manner.