Recruitment scam: Court rejects vigilance plea seeking withdrawal of case against Tota Singh

Friday, 11/11/2016

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SAS NAGAR: Scuttling the Punjab government’s move to bail out cabinet minister Tota Singh in the recruitment scam case ahead of the coming assembly elections, a local court dismissed an application by the state vigilance bureau seeking withdrawal of the case against him.

Dismissing the application, additional district and sessions judge Puneet Mohan Sharma said the application does not “qualify to be considered to have been moved in public interest.”

The minister, along with five other accused, is facing trial in the case pertaining to the recruitment of 134 clerks by the Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) during 2000 and 2001, when he was state education minister.

The vigilance bureau had filed an application in October under Section 321 of CrPC, seeking withdrawal of the corruption case against Tota Singh, a senior Akali leader and MLA from Dharamkot.

The government had also moved an application seeking withdrawal of the case against the minister three years ago, which was also dismissed.

The court, while dismissing the fresh application, said, “There are serious allegations of trifling with the recruitment of 134 clerks. In such a case, a withdrawal application at the fag end will not advance the interest of justice.”

The court has now fixed November 30 as the next date for hearing final arguments in the case.

Without going into the merits of the case, the court only examined the application to see if it had been moved in the public interest or not.

The prosecution failed to convince the court that the application is moved is “in public interest or would advance the interest of justice.” The prosecution’s submission that Tota Singh’s trial would be a “futile exercise as there is no iota of evidence against him” failed to impress the court.

The court held that the application can be moved at any stage, but “why now when final arguments in the case are to be heard.”

It observed that the prosecution could move the application to withdraw the case before pronouncement of order. THE CASE

Tota Singh, along with five other accused, is facing trial in the alleged scam pertaining to the recruitment of 134 clerks by the Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) during 2000 and 2001, when he was state education minister.

In June 14, 2002, the vigilance bureau had registered an FIR under Sections 420, 467, 471, 120-B of IPC and Sections 13 (1) (d) read with Section 13 (2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, against Tota Singh and PSEB officials Jagjit Singh, Pavittar Pal Kaur, Tirath Singh, Jora Singh and Amar Singh.

The court had framed charges against the accused in September 2008. The prosecution has submitted that they examined 17 witnesses but none of them supported allegations against Tota Singh.