Mohali court rejects ex-DGP Sumedh Singh Saini’s bail plea in corruption case

Tribune News Service

Mohali, August 7

A special court in Mohali has rejected former DGP Sumedh Singh Saini’s anticipatory bail application in a corruption case filed against him by the Vigilance Bureau.

Additional District and Sessions Judge Parminder Singh Grewal, while rejecting Saini’s plea, said the case was registered after a detailed inquiry conducted by the VB on the complaint of the Vigilance Joint Director and was based on certain documents.

The court has observed that Saini had asserted in his petition that he was not known to Nimratdeep Singh and his father and had met them during the signing of the rent agreement and the agreement to sell. However, Saini’s own accounts show that he had already paid Rs 45 lakh to Nimratdeep and his father much before signing the rent deed. Then money in crores was paid before signing the agreement to sell and even, thereafter, without any receipt. Non deduction of TDS on payments made by Saini lent credence to the case of the vigilance that the documents had been framed as a cover-up.

Saini had filed the bail plea through his counsels HS Dhanoya and APS Deol on Thursday. Saini is among seven persons booked by the VB under Sections 109, 120-B of the IPC and 13(1) (B) and 13 (2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act recently. Saini is accused of helping Punjab XEN Nimratdeep Singh in amassing assets much beyond his known sources of income. The Vigilance team had also raided Saini’s residence in Sector 20 here to arrest him and it continued searching his house for several hours.

APS Deol argued that the case was the outcome of political vendetta and in line with the three earlier cases registered against Saini. He further asserted that it was a case of his having first taken house no 3048, Sector 20-D, Chandigarh, on rent and then having entered into an agreement to purchase the same with the owner.

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