HIGH COURT STAYS ARREST OF FORMER CM’S S
Chandigarh July 18:
The Punjab and Haryana High Court stayed the arrest of Preneet Kaur, wife of former Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh, and his son Raninder Singh in a fresh case of disproportionate assets registered by the Punjab Vigilance Bureau.
Justice H S Bhalla stayed their arrest while issuing notices to the State of Punjab. Accusing the Punjab government and the Vigilance of political vendetta and apprehending arrest, the duo — Preneet Kaur and Raninder — had moved the High Court demanding a pre-arrest bail. Their counsel placed on record the judgment of the Division Bench of the High Court.
The division bench held: “It is not disputed that there is a history of political rivalry between Captain Amarinder Singh and Parkash Singh Badal. The rivalry goes back to the institution of cases against Badal during the regime of Captain Amarinder Singh, arising out of an FIR which was registered against Badal and his son in police station, Vigilance Bureau, Mohali”
The judjement further stated: “Meanwhile, in the event of arrest of the petitioners, they shall be released on anticipatory bail on furnishing their bail bonds to the satisfaction of the arresting/investigating officer.” “They shall cooperate with the Investigating Officer and join investigation as and when called upon to do so,” stated the judgement.
A case had, earlier, been registered at the VB office, Patiala ,on June 19 under Sections 7, 8, 9, 13-1-D-E and 14 (13-2) of the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act and 120-B of the IPC. The Bureau alleged that after examining 20 accounts of the former chief minister, they found an accumulated bank balance of nearly Rs 6 crore, when his income from all sources during his tenure as Punjab Chief Minister (2002 to 2007) was Rs 1.6 crore only.
Chandigarh July 18:
The Punjab and Haryana High Court stayed the arrest of Preneet Kaur, wife of former Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh, and his son Raninder Singh in a fresh case of disproportionate assets registered by the Punjab Vigilance Bureau.
Justice H S Bhalla stayed their arrest while issuing notices to the State of Punjab. Accusing the Punjab government and the Vigilance of political vendetta and apprehending arrest, the duo — Preneet Kaur and Raninder — had moved the High Court demanding a pre-arrest bail. Their counsel placed on record the judgment of the Division Bench of the High Court.
The division bench held: “It is not disputed that there is a history of political rivalry between Captain Amarinder Singh and Parkash Singh Badal. The rivalry goes back to the institution of cases against Badal during the regime of Captain Amarinder Singh, arising out of an FIR which was registered against Badal and his son in police station, Vigilance Bureau, Mohali”
The judjement further stated: “Meanwhile, in the event of arrest of the petitioners, they shall be released on anticipatory bail on furnishing their bail bonds to the satisfaction of the arresting/investigating officer.” “They shall cooperate with the Investigating Officer and join investigation as and when called upon to do so,” stated the judgement.
A case had, earlier, been registered at the VB office, Patiala ,on June 19 under Sections 7, 8, 9, 13-1-D-E and 14 (13-2) of the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act and 120-B of the IPC. The Bureau alleged that after examining 20 accounts of the former chief minister, they found an accumulated bank balance of nearly Rs 6 crore, when his income from all sources during his tenure as Punjab Chief Minister (2002 to 2007) was Rs 1.6 crore only.
