High Cour transfers Army officer assault probe to UT Police

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has entrusted the investigation of the Colonel Pushpinder Singh Bath assault case to the Chandigarh Police.

Justice Harpreet Singh Brar has directed that the probe be conducted by an IPS officer belonging to the AGMUT cadre and not from the Punjab cadre. The decision came on Bath’s petition seeking the transfer of the probe to the CBI or an independent agency.

In a consent order, Justice Brar told UT Director General of Police to assign the investigation to an IPS officer posted in the Union Territory from the AGMUT cadre within a week of receiving the order’s certified copy. The court also set a strict timeline for the completion of the probe, directing the investigating officer to conclude the probe within four months and submit the final report before the jurisdictional court.

Justice Brar observed that both the petitioner and the State of Punjab were in agreement that the FIR’s investigation in the facts and circumstances of the case “might be entrusted to an IPS Officer posted in UT, not from Punjab Cadre, to resolve the controversy involved in the present petition”. Justice Brar directed the Punjab DGP to extend full cooperation to the investigating officer during the probe. A copy of the order was also forwarded to UT Public Prosecutor for immediate compliance. The petitioner was represented by advocate PS Ahluwalia, while senior advocate RS Rai appeared for the state.