Kotkapura firing case: HC grants anticipatory bail to Sukhbir Badal

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 21

The Punjab and Haryana high court on Tuesday granted anticipatory bail to Shiromani Akali Dal leader and the former deputy chief minister of Punjab, Sukhbir Singh Badal in the 2015 Kotkapura police firing case.

The high court bench of justice Raj Mohan Singh, while seeking a response from the Punjab government by May 30, has granted interim protection from arrest to the Akali leader.

“Till the next date of hearing, the petitioner is directed to appear before the trial court within a period of 15 days from today. In the event of his appearance, the trial court shall release the petitioner on interim bail subject to its satisfaction,” the bench ruled.

Badal’s counsel contended that he being the Home Minister at the relevant time has been implicated by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) on the allegation of his abandoning from the law and order situation on October 12, 2015 as he had departed for Gurugram despite having knowledge of incident of sacrilege and the growing resentment amongst the public at Bargari and Kotkapura in order to use his absence as an excuse to evade responsibility of illegal actions of the police.

He submitted that the challan stands presented to the court and there is no requirement of the investigating agency to seek custodial interrogation of the petitioner in any manner. The presence of the petitioner is only required for trial purposes and there is no chance of his fleeing from justice in any manner, he added.

On March 16, the trial court at Faridkot had dismissed his anticipatory bail plea in the case, following which he had moved the High Court on March 18. The trial court had, however, granted interim protection from arrest to his father and former chief minister, Parkash Singh Badal, on health grounds.

Last month, the SIT had filed a chargesheet in the case, naming Parkash Singh Badal and Sukhbir, who then held the home portfolio in the state cabinet, and former Punjab Police director general Sumedh Singh Saini among the accused.

While rejecting the bail, the trial court had observed that the SIT found that the FIRs registered against three sacrilege incidents of June 1, 2015, September 24, 2015 and October 12, 2015, were not properly and professionally investigated with an intent to screen the guilty “dera premis” from possible criminal action owing to clandestine inaction of Sukhbir Singh Badal, the then Home Minister of the State, due to his direct link and personal relationship with Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, Dera head, and “personal aspirations of Sukhbir Singh Badal to garner and secure the votes of Dera followers in the election process”.

“Having regard to such nature and gravity of offence, which had the potential to put the State into turmoil of sectarian clash, this court does not deem it a fit case to extend the benefit of anticipatory bail,” the trial court had held.

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