IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA
AT CHANDIGARH

CRM-M No.15946 of 2018
Date of decision: 7th January, 2019

Sohan Singh others
… Petitioners
Versus
State of Punjab others
… Respondents

CORAM: HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE FATEH DEEP SINGH
Present: Mr. Preetinder S. Ahluwalia, Advocate for the petitioners.
Mr. Saurav Khurana, Dy. Advocate General, Punjab with
ASI Dilbagh Singh, PS Sadar, Patti
for respondents No.1 to 3/State.
Mr. Gaurav Kalsi, Advocate for respondents No.4 and 5.

FATEH DEEP SINGH, J.

The petitioners, namely Sohan Singh, Bachhittar Singh,

Gurvinder Singh, Jugraj Singh alias Joga and Ninder Singh, who are

accused in case bearing FIR No.50 dated 23.03.2018 under Section 376

IPC and Section 10(3) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes

(Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 pertaining to Police Station Patti,

District Tarn Taran (Annexure P3), have invoked jurisdiction of this

Court under Section 482 Cr.P.C. seeking transfer of investigations to an

agency of repute or to a special investigating team as the official

respondents are carrying on investigations contrary to the principles of

natural justice falsely fabricating evidence and are working under the

political influence for attaining a sinister design of political vendetta.

1 of 5
20-01-2019 01:24:06 :::
CRM-M No.15946 of 2018 2

The petitioners in their petition claim that father of petitioner

No.1 and grandfather of petitioners No.2 and 3, namely Kashmir Singh

happened to be the Sarpanch of village Rasulpur, District Tarn Taran

from the year 2008 to 2014 and thereafter mother of petitioner No.3

namely Dalbir Kaur was elected as Sarpanch. It is alleged that the

petitioners are staunch supporters of Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) and on

account of their influence in the area, have been continuing to be the

Sarpanch of their village for the last more than eight years. It is alleged

that the local sitting MLA happens to be from the opposition party of

Congress and on account of political victimization had got false case

registered against the petitioners which is annexed as Annexure P/1. It is

alleged that a bare perusal of the FIR shows the abundant misuse of the

process of the Law and the futile effort in false implication of the entire

family of the petitioners for a motivated cause and thus, sought that the

alleged allegations need to be investigated by an agency of repute.

The official respondents in their reply which has been

adopted even by the private respondents, though took the preliminary

objections that the petition was an outcome of misrepresentation of the

facts and denied any such representation earlier made by the petitioners

side apprehending their false implication and claimed that the police had

acted in a fair and impartial manner on the allegations of the complainant.

On merits though accepted the inter-se relationship of the petitioners and

the fact that they are owing allegiance to Akali Dal (Badal) party but

denied the allegations so levelled against the respondents and claimed

2 of 5
20-01-2019 01:24:07 :::
CRM-M No.15946 of 2018 3

that the FIR so claimed by the petitioners to have been falsely registered

was based on truth and there were genuine allegations and sought

dismissal of the petition.

Upon hearing Mr. Preetinder Singh Ahluwalia, Advocate for

the petitioners; Mr. Saurav Khurana, Dy. Advocate General, Punjab

assisted by ASI Dilbagh Singh from Police Station Sadar, Patti on behalf

of respondents No.1 to 3/State and Mr. Gaurav Kalsi, Advocate

representing respondents No.4 and 5, and on perusal of the records. As is

there and is so apparent from the stand of the respondents in their written

reply, the inter-se relationship of the petitioners is not at all put to

dispute, together with the fact that the petitioners belong to political party

of Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) and the fact that they were retaining the

seat of Sarpanch of the village for the last eight years. As has been

highlighted by learned counsel for the petitioners, the present case by

way of FIR (Annexure P3) has come about from the statement of one

Paramjit Kaur wife of Malkiat Singh resident of Nurdi Adda, Tarn Taran.

The very arguments that have been put forth by learned counsel for the

petitioners that in the said FIR (Annexure P3) which is subject matter of

present dispute between the parties, the complainant claims that she was

going to meet her massi Sukhwinder Kaur when on the way accused had

ravaged her. The claim of the petitioners that alleged massi Sukhwinder

Kaur is none other than the wife of Manjit Singh who happens to be

complainant in FIR (Annexure P1) which is also against the present

petitioners and the former also happens to be an eye-witness of the said

3 of 5
20-01-2019 01:24:07 :::
CRM-M No.15946 of 2018 4

FIR. Furthermore, undisputedly representations (Annexure P4) were

addressed to higher officials by the petitioner side on 09.01.2018,

showing their apprehension of being involved in false criminal cases and

which is also substantiated from Annexure P6.

Though the Court is not supposed to critically examine the

case of the complainant, however, for the sake of convenience on the

attention drawn by learned counsel for the petitioners to the MLR of the

victim in FIR (Annexure P3) that there are allegations of gang rape and

physical abuse of the victim at the hands of the petitioners but a close at

the MLR (Annexure P7) would show that nothing is even remotely

suggestive of the victim having ever been ravaged and rather what is

most astonishing is the observation that there is no sign of injury or

struggle present much less any sign of being ravaged as claimed in the

allegations of the FIR. The victim claims that she was stopped and

forcibly thrown into the car and was thereafter taken to a tubewell room

where her clothes were forcibly removed and all the accused petitioners,

who she claims to be numbering five of different age groups ranging

between 19 to 60, have raped her one by one and where she was kept

throughout the night. To the specific query of the Court as to any

corroborative medical or other evidence to these allegations of gang rape

and physical abuse, learned counsel for the respondents was clearly at

loss of words. What one can deduce from the contentions of the two

sides, there is clearly a history of political rivalry which has led to

repeated registration of FIRs against family of the petitioners.

4 of 5
20-01-2019 01:24:07 :::
CRM-M No.15946 of 2018 5

Thus, from all this discussion, it is quite apparent that all is

not well with the investigations and there is a strong element of suspicion

lurking before the Court that there is an all out effort to stifle due process

of law for a politically motivated cause to attain a sinister design and

thus, extinguish all the likely political opposition to the sitting MLA of

the area and thus, apparently from the face of all these, it bears out that

there is every likelihood that administration and dispensation of justice

might be a casualty at the hands of the official respondents. It would be in

the interest of justice and fitness of things if investigation of the present

FIR (Annexure P3) is transferred from police of District Tarn Taran and

entrusted to the State Crime Bureau, Punjab at Chandigarh with further

directions to ensure that a senior IPS officer heads the special team to

investigate into these allegations and which will constitute members

having good track record and ensure that they carry on the investigation

efficiently, impartially and without any undue influence, so that justice is

meted out to both the sides with all fairness. With these observations, the

present petition stands allowed and disposed off accordingly.

(FATEH DEEP SINGH)
JUDGE
January 7, 2019
rps
Whether speaking/reasoned Yes/No
Whether reportable Yes/No

5 of 5
20-01-2019 01:24:07 :::