Court denies permanent exemption for CM in riots case
A local court here has refused to grant Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma permanent exemption from appearance in court for hearings in the 13-year-old Gopalganj communal riots case.
Punjab and Haryana High Court directed late Saturday night that Punjab Police cannot take any coercive action against the Delhi BJP leader Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga till the next hearing on May 10.
In a respite against the arrest warrant issued by a Mohali court on Saturday evening, the High Court order came as a relief for Bagga who may not be taken in the custody by the Punjab Police till May 10. Justice Anoop Chitkara passed the order while hearing a petition challenging the arrest warrant for Bagga issued by the Mohali court.
Advocate General Anmol Rattan Singh said that Punjab has taken a strong objection to the matter being taken up at midnight, saying that it was not so urgent.
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He further submitted that the main petition was filed on April 6 this year, and none stopped the petitioner from filing an application under section 438 CrPC for a grant of anticipatory bail, which is a statutory provision.
Singh also contended that by filing an application for a stay of the arrest warrant and requesting the matter to be heard at such an off time, the petitioner is tainting the judicial system and it should not be permitted.
Punjab Police sought a non-bailable warrant against Bagga from a local court. There is no stay regarding the arrest of the accused in the present FIR nor any anticipatory bail application moved by the accused, said the Punjab Police officials.
Notably, Bagga reached his residence in Delhi on the intervening night of Friday and Saturday after he was “rescued” by the Delhi Police. He had later claimed that the Punjab Police had barged into his home in large numbers and arrested him “as they do it with a terrorist”.
Earlier in April, Bagga had claimed that the Punjab Police officials reached his home while he was in Lucknow. He had alleged that the Delhi police weren’t informed by the Punjab Police.
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