High Court of Punjab and HaryanaCWP/22703/2020disposed of

Param Raj Singh Umaranangal v. State Of Punjab And Others

2022-07-04Mr. Justice Raj Mohan Singh28 pages

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"That Sumedh Singh Saini accused in this case was asked to join investigation on 2522019 and similarly, Paramraj Singh Umranangal was asked to join investigation on 1222019. Both have been granted blanket bail by Hon'ble Punjab and Haryana High Court."

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&0 8/" ? / $"/ " " %&%#0% "#%,< ")))Accordingly, this court finds that the investigation carried out by the respondent No.3 is not free from blemish. His personal malice and malafide functioning by totally usurping the powers of SIT constituted in the first instance, has been duly demonstrated on record. The petitioners have also been successful in showing that the respondent No.3 has gone to the extent of manufacturing the statements of witnesses to suit his designs, by recording differing statements of same witnesses in these two FIRs; with convenient omissions in their statements recorded under section 161 Cr.P.C. in police FIR No.192 dated 14.10.2015 qua the violence by the protestors; whereas that finds mentioned in their statements recorded in FIR 129 Dated 07.08.2018.

The record also shows that the respondent No.3 has declared the accused mentioned in the FIR No.192 dated 14.10.2015 as innocent even without recording statement of a single injured police witness. Also the conclusions drawn by the respondent No.3 are found to be against the statement of witnesses recorded and the material collected by him only. Moreover, the political interest of the current dispensation in the state qua the investigation; and the political theatrics of respondent No.

other party during the election process; has duly been established as per the record. Public pressure to get the alleged erring police officials convicted also appears to have adversely affected the fairness of the investigation. As a result the fairness of investigation stands vitiated. The investigation conducted by the respondent No.3 also suffers from malice, irrationality and absurdity. Hence, this court is of the considered opinion that this is one of the rare cases where the court is under duty to stepin to prevent miscarriage of justice, instill confidence in the investigation and also to preempt the misuse of the process of the court; by quashing the investigation and the consequent report under section 173 Cr.P.C. filed in these two cases, while leaving state to fairly investigate these two cases again.

In view of the above, the investigation conducted by the respondent No. 3 in FIR No. 129 dated 7.8.2018 and FIR No. 192 dated 14.10.2015, both of Police Station City Kotkapura and the consequent chargesheet filed by him, are liable to be quashed. Ordered accordingly))."

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1%0 ",< (i) The State Government shall constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) of three senior IPS officers

from the State of Punjab, which shall not include the respondent No.3, and which shall include at least one officer senior to the respondent No.3 in rank and designation, to conduct the investigation in the FIR involved in the present petitions, i.e.; FIR No. 192 dated 14.10.2015 and FIR No. 129 dated 07.08.2018;

(ii) There shall be no interference from any quarter; internal or external; with this SIT qua the investigation. This SIT shall not report to any State executive or police authority qua the investigation in question. It shall report only to the concerned Magistrate, in accordance with law;

(iii) The SIT so constituted by the State Government shall work jointly. All the members of the SIT shall put their signatures on all the proceedings of the investigation as a mark of the fact that they have agreed to the said investigation;

(iv) Once constituted, that SIT shall not be changed by the State Government except in case of retirement, incapacity or death of the officer concerned; (v) The final report of investigation shall be filed jointly as a team; under signatures of all the members of the SIT, who shall also be cited as witnesses in the list as the investigating officers;

(vi) The members of SIT shall not leak any part of the investigation, before filing the final report before the concerned magistrate. They shall not interact with media qua any aspect of investigation. Further, they shall not respond, directly or indirectly, to any doubt or opinion expressed by anyone from the public or the religious or the political establishments;

(vii) The investigation of these FIRs shall be concluded as expeditiously as possible, preferably within a period of six months from the date of the constitution of SIT. :

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&%#0% "#%,< "A. It is a matter of record that the agitation(s) against the sacrilege of Sh. Guru Granth Sahib were held at Kotkapura and Behbal Kalan. There the conflict between the police and protestors took place at Kotkapura on 14.10.2015, in the early morning, where many individuals were injured and thereafter the occurrence at Behbal Kalan/Bajakhana also took place on the same day i.e. 14.10.2015 after the occurrence of Kotkapura. B. Infact, many of the police officials/personnel/force who were present at Kotkapura, were moved immediately to Behbal Kalan/Bajakhana to deal with the law and order situation, where the conflict between the police and protestor took place leading to death of two individuals.

That thereafter some of the police officials/personnel again came back to Kotkapura from Behbal Kalan/Bajakhana.

C. Further during the perusal of the record of the FIR No.130(supra) and judgment dated 09.04.2021 passed by this Hon'ble Court in CWP174592019 (Gurdeep Singh's Judgment), it has been found by the present SIT, that there are interconnecting facts, which are there between the occurrence that took place at Kotkapura (now being investigated by Chairman of that SIT Sh. L.K.

Yadav, IPS, ADGP) and the occurrence that subsequently took place at Behbal Kalan/Bajakhana. D. Infact, there are certain issues like the presence of Mr. Param Raj Singh Umaranangal, presence of Gurdeep Singh and other police officials etc., at the place of occurrences i.e. Kotkapura/Behbal Kalan, which are to be established by the present SIT as both occurrence are interconnected. Similarly, there are certain other material evidence(s) which are interconnected with regard to both the occurrences at Kotkapura and Bajakhana, and these facts need to be cross checked with the investigation of the Kotkapura cases.

However, since this Hon'ble Court has specifically directed in the judgment dated 09.04.2021 as under: "The members of SIT shall not leak any part of the investigation, before filing the final report before the concerned magistrate. They shall not interact with media qua any aspect of investigation. Further, they shall not respond, directly or indirectly, to any doubt or opinion expressed by anyone from the public or the religious or the political establishments".

The present SIT has been facing problems in further investigation of the FIR No.130 (supra) in absence of access to the investigation in the Kotkapura cases which are being investigated by the SIT headed by Sh. L.K. Yadav, IPS, ADGP."

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