2015 Sacrilege Case: Dera follower wants SIT challan quashed, HC issues notice to CBI, Punjab govt

Following the issuance of notice, the court Tuesday adjourned the matter to August 18. (Representational Image)

The Punjab and Haryana High Court Tuesday issued a notice to the Punjab government and CBI in a petition filed by a Dera Sacha Sauda follower seeking quashing of the challan filed by a Punjab Police SIT before a court in Faridkot in a case pertaining to incidents of sacrilege in 2015. The court was told the same FIR and related cases are already under investigation with the central agency.

Following the issuance of notice, the court Tuesday adjourned the matter to August 18. The petitioner, Sukhjinder Singh alias Sunny, who is one of the accused in the case, has also sought quashing of order passed by the judicial magistrate in Faridkot on July 6 accepting the final report. The accused is represented by Senior Advocate Vinod Ghai in the case.

An FIR was registered on June 2 in 2015 at Bajakhana police station on the complaint of a granthi at Gurudwara Singh Sahib of village Burj Jawahar Singh Wala regarding theft of scripture or saroop of Shri Guru Granth Sahib Ji. In 2015, two more cases of sacrilege were registered in the district. The cases were later handed over to CBI for probe by the then Akali government.

While the Congress government in 2018 withdrew its consent from the CBI and handed over the cases to Punjab Police SIT, the agencies have been fighting it out in open over who is authorized to probe the cases.

Submitting that the investigation of the cases was still being conducted by the CBI, Sukhjinder in his petition said the police has misled the magistrate in Faridkot while submitting an application and final report. He further alleged that in order to overreach the entire judicial process, the SIT within three days has started re-investigation and submitted the final report under Section 173 CrPC against him and others. According to the petition, the judicial magistrate on July 2 was informed about investigation in the 2015 FIR and the challan was filed on July 6.

“The SIT of Punjab Police by the above-said application has committed a contemptuous act by starting a parallel re-investigation on the same subject without any jurisdiction or authority in the light of the fact when the Ld. Special Magistrate (CBI) Punjab at Mohali has in the active presence of State of Punjab already allowed the further investigation of the matter to be conducted by the CBI,” reads the petition.

The SIT on July 6 filed the final report of investigation before the Faridkot court against seven accused including Sukhjinder in the 2015 case.

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