HC seeks medical records of developer Bajwa amid claims of evading jail under medical pretext

Taking cognisance of allegations that Jarnail Singh Bajwa – a prominent real estate developer associated with multiple residential projects under the name Sunny Enclave in Punjab – has been receiving preferential treatment from police authorities, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has called for his complete medical records from the Ropar Civil Hospital.

Advertisement

Justice Sandeep Moudgil issued directions after it was submitted before the court that Bajwa, allegedly implicated in approximately 60 criminal cases, had not been genuinely taken into police custody or lodged in jail since March. Instead, he was alleged to have been unlawfully kept at the Civil Hospital under the pretext of medical treatment, despite the absence of any serious health condition necessitating hospitalisation.

Justice Moudgil was hearing a protection plea filed on the ground that the petitioner was “not only pursuing his own case, but also been assisting other complainants in legal proceedings against Bajwa. The Bench was also informed that Bajwa – confined at the hospital – had allegedly been granted access to mobile phones provided by police personnel assigned to him, as well as phones belonging to his personal driver and staff, to make threatening calls to the petitioner through unidentified individuals.

Justice Moudgil, during the course of hearing, observed it was brought to the court’s notice that Bajwa sought bail during the summer vacation by filing a plea. “A request was made to withdraw the present petition during that proceeding, but this court has declined the request, observing that such a move would amount to Bench hunting.

Directing the petitioner to file an affidavit substantiating the allegations, the court ordered that the affidavit must include the mobile numbers suspected to have been used by Bajwa either while in jail or during his stay at the Civil Hospital allegedly for issuing threats and engaging in other alleged unlawful activities.

“Simultaneously, the State counsel is instructed to file an affidavit from the Chief Medical Officer, Civil Hospital, Ropar, or any other senior-most officer in the hospital’s administrative hierarchy. The affidavit must provide complete medical records of the respondent, including details of his ailments, treatment administered, and vital statistics such as blood pressure and blood sugar levels that may have been managed at the hospital,” Justice Moudgil concluded before fixing July 14 as the next date of hearing in the matter.