Punjab CM, minister appear before court

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 6

Chief Minister of Punjab Bhagwant Mann and Minister of Finance Harpal Singh Cheema appeared before the court of Dr Aman Inder Singh, Chief Judicial Magistrate, today in a two-year-old case. The court granted them regular bail today.

The court issued bailable warrants for AAP leaders Aman Arora and Baljinder Kaur

Dr Anmol Rattan Sidhu, former Advocate General of Punjab, and Harinder Kumar, counsel appearing for CM Mann, and others said the FIR was an outcome of political vendetta just to attach a stigma to their reputation. They said the case was registered without inquiry and the police falsely implicated the leaders.

The case was registered against 10 AAP leaders, including Bhagwant Mann, Harpal Singh Cheema and Aman Arora, for allegedly pelting the police with stones during a demonstration near the MLA hostel on January 10, 2020. The police registered the case for the offences committed under Sections 353 (assault or criminal force to deter a public servant from discharging his duty), 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to deter a public servant from discharging his duty), 147 (punishment for rioting) and 149 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of the offences committed in prosecution of common object) in 2020.

The police had alleged that the AAP workers, instigated by the leaders, pelted the police with stones when they were stopped near the MLA hostel. The leaders were going towards the official residence of the Punjab Chief Minister when they were stopped due to the imposition of Section 144 in the area.

After the police submitted the challan, the court issued summons to the AAP leaders in December 2021. Bhagwant Mann, Master Baldev Singh and some other leaders were earlier granted anticipatory bail by the court.

During the last hearing of the case, the court had allowed exemption to CM Mann and directed him to appear before the court on August 6. The court has adjourned the hearing in the case for August 30.

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