Sweta –
Published on: August 23, 2021, at 15:20 IST
On April 9, the Punjab and Haryana High Court quashed the state’s investigation in the Kotkapura firing case and directed the state to reconstitute the special investigation team without the IPS officer.
Kunwar Vijay Partap Singh filed an appeal against observations made by a single judge bench in the sacrilege case on Monday.
Singh put in his papers in April soon after a bench of Justice Rajbir Sehrawat quashed his investigations.
The ex-IG, who resigned on April 14, in the letter dated March 15, also brought to the notice of the government through the Punjab DGP, Director of Bureau of Investigation, and the Additional Chief Secretary, Home, that the Akali leaders had threatened him. He also specifically said the government and the state legal department did not take any action on his complaint about receiving threats from the accused. The letter contains a detailed note about the entire investigation and legal points.
Meanwhile, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President Sukhbir Singh Badal said in a statement that he would file a defamation suit against the ex-IG for making false claims in the letter.
On the status of the investigation, he has written: “It is further submitted that the investigation of these cases has been completed in all respects. Sukhbir Singh, the then Deputy Chief Minister and in charge of the Home Department, has been examined on 19.11.2019 by the SIT. Sardar Parkash Singh Badal, the then Chief Minister, has also been examined on 16.11.2018 by the SIT. One challan in respect of them is required to be submitted in the court of competent jurisdiction, as mentioned in the first challan presented on 27 .05.2019 in FIR No. 12912018 (PS City Kotkapura). Similarly, one challan is also required to be filed in FIR No. 130/2015 (Behbal Kalan firing case).”
A single-judge bench had quashed probe by an SIT headed by Singh into the Kotkapura firing case and made some strong observations against him.
Taking up the petition filed through counsel APS Shergill, the Bench of Justice Augustine George Masih and Justice AK Verma set the next hearing for December 7.