Punjab sacrilege panel chief takes Sukhbir to court
Friday, 08/02/2019
https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/punjab/punjab-sacrilege-panel-chief-takes-sukhbir-to-court/725537.html
Chandigarh : A former judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Justice Ranjit Singh, has filed a criminal complaint against Punjab’s former Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal and MLA Bikram Singh Majithia for “false, derogatory and defamatory” statements against him.
Justice Ranjit Singh has asserted that the intention was to bring into disrepute him and the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) headed by him to look into the cases of sacrilege in Punjab during the previous SAD-BJP regime.
Dubbing the panel report as “worth Rs 5” allegedly by Sukhbir, Majithia and other SAD members has been quoted as an “instance of wilful disrepute”.
Justice Ranjit Singh has also referred to other instances where Sukhbir made statements against the commission and its head, which allegedly brought disrepute.
If the first-of-its-kind plea is allowed, the respondents may find themselves facing proceedings for simple imprisonment for a term extending up to six months, or fine, or both.
Justice Ranjit Singh has asserted that he, as the chairman of the CoI, executed his duties and functions in a non-partisan manner and with honesty, integrity and a great sense of responsibility.
Since the inquiry pertains to incidents and occurrences taking place while the government helmed by Sukhbir was in power, it was natural that the CoI’s findings and recommendations did not go down well with him and certain members of the SAD, he contended, adding that as a result, Sukhbir and his associates embarked upon a tirade to publicly undermine and ridicule the CoI and the complainant. Justice Ranjit Singh has invoked the provisions of the Commissions of Inquiry Act, 1952, for seeking action. Section 10A of the Act deals with penalty for acts calculated to bring the commission or any of its members into disrepute.
