Bagga gets reprieve from Punjab and Haryana High Court
Darpan News Desk IANS, 10 May, 2022 12:24 PM
Chandigarh, May 10 (IANS) In a major reprieve to BJP leader Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga, the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Tuesday ordered continuation of his interim protection.
But Justice Anoop Chitkara questioned Punjab on filing of a habeas corpus plea in the case.
The case will come up for final hearing on July 5 after the summer break.
Additional Solicitor General Satya Pal Jain refuted the allegations of illegal detention and said not even a single officer was detained.
An affidavit in this regard has already been filed by the Delhi Police.
The High Court last week stayed the arrest of Bagga and directed the Punjab government to not take any coercive action against him until the next hearing which was scheduled for May 10.
The BJP leader moved the High Court while challenging a non-bailable arrest warrant issued against him by a Mohali Court on May 7.
The Punjab government, in its habeas plea, had moved two applications: one for making the Centre a party to the case and the second for direction to Delhi and Haryana Police to preserve the CCTV cameras.
The state had filed the habeas corpus petition against the Haryana government, alleging that 12 Punjab Police officers involved in the arrest of Bagga have been detained by Haryana police in Kurukshetra.
Punjab also sought the custody of Bagga, the national secretary of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, who was held in connection with a case registered against him in Mohali last month.
In its plea, the Punjab government had alleged that when Punjab Police was taking Bagga to SAS Nagar (Mohali) to produce him before the area magistrate, the Haryana Police stopped them midway and brought them to the Kurukshetra where his custody was given to the Delhi Police.
Delhi Police, which reports to the Union Home Ministry, on May 6 took Bagga's custody and later released him after legal process.
It also lodged two cases against Punjab Police in connection with Bagga's arrest.
Punjab Police, while taking Bagga to Mohali from Delhi, was stopped midway by the Haryana Police after Delhi Police registered a kidnapping case on the complaint of father of the BJP leader.
On Thursday, senior BJP leaders including chief ministers of the party ruled states offered prayers at temples across the country for the well-being and long life of Prime Minister Modi after his security was breached in Punjab on January 5.
Most of these farmers had earlier stated that they were present at the spot but were not involved in the attack. They were, at that time, charged under bailable sections such as 'rioting' and 'voluntarily causing hurt' and were let off by the SIT officials under Section 41 of the CrPC.
The Congress is witnessing internal bickering on the issue of security breach of the Prime Minister and Congress MP from Punjab Manish Tewari has termed the incidence as most unfortunate and said the matter should be probed by a sitting High Court Judge.
Addressing a gathering in Tanda in Hoshiarpur district after laying the foundation stone of development work, the Chief Minister said there was no threat to the life of the Prime Minister but he cancelled his programme on Wednesday because of the thin presence of people at the BJP's rally.
High drama was witnessed on Thursday after 125 of 179 international passengers, who arrived at Sri Guru Ram Das Jee International Airport Rajasansi, near here, from Italy, in an Air India flight tested positive on arrival. The Covid passengers were asked to quarantine in local hospital as per the guidelines of the government.
On Wednesday, The Prime Minister's rally in Ferozepur had to be cancelled due to a security lapse after some protesters blocked a route and forced his convoy to spend about 20 minutes on a flyover. The Prime Minister was enroute the National Martyrs Memorial at Hussainiwala when the incident happened.
