High Court stays proceedings before Faridkot court in sacrilege-related case

The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Friday directed the trial court not to proceed further with a sacrilege-related case registered for an attempt to murder and other offences against former chief minister parkash Singh Badal and others. The matter is pending before the Additional Sessions Judge Court, Faridkot. The FIR in the matter was registered on August 7, 2018, at the City Police Station in Kotkapura in Faridkot district.

The order came just about a year after trial of a murder case registered at Bajakhana police station in Faridkot was transferred to Chandigarh.

The case with Bajakhana police station was registered after two persons were killed in police firing at Behbal Kalan during a protest against the incidents of sacrilege in the state

Justice Tribhuvan Dahiya passed the order on a petition filed by former Moga SSP Charanjit Singh Sharma, whose plea for transferring the trial from Faridkot to Chandigarh is under consideration. The court adjourned the matter to March 10 while restraining the trial court from proceeding further.

The petitioner, through advocates Sangram Singh Saron and M.B. Rajwade, contended that the High Court had already transferred the connected case to Chandigarh on May 31, 2024. The trial court had since made a reference regarding the transfer of the pending trial, which remains undecided. Meanwhile, the framing of charges in the case was scheduled for February 24.

The high court, while hearing the matter last year, had asserted a free and fair trial was integral to Article 21 of the Constitution, forming the cornerstone of criminal jurisprudence. Ensuring fairness in trial proceedings required a process untainted by bias, whether for or against the accused or the victim.

The Bench was told that incidents of sacrilege and desecration of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib were reported in Faridkot, Punjab between June to October 2015. There was large-scale public outrage, protests and incidents of violence reported across Faridkot district due to incidents of sacrilege. In order to control the situation and to ensure that the protestors do not resort to large-scale arson

In view of the simmering tempers of the protesters, after following due procedure the police authorities were compelled to resort to measures to restore peace and from preventing any untoward incident from taking place.

As a consequence of the incidents of sacrilege and the protests, which erupted thereafter, various first information reports were registered.