New Delhi, September 11
The Punjab Government is contemplating to file a caveat in the Supreme Court as a pre-emptive measure to put across its views before the apex court in the event of former Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and his son, Sukhbir Singh Badal, challenging the Punjab and Haryana High Court order dismissing their petition on the question of sanction for prosecuting them in the corruption case.

“We have information that Badals are consulting several senior advocates to challenge the High Court order in the Supreme Court and we will be filing a caveat soon in the apex court so that the state government is also heard if a petition is filed by them,” a senior lawyer of the Punjab Government told The Tribune.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court had on September 2 rejected the review petition of Mr Parkash Singh Badal, Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Assembly, and his son, Mr Sukhbir Singh Badal, MP, against Ropar’s Special Judge’s order framing charges against them. They had challenged their prosecution by the Punjab Government’s Vigilance Bureau in the disproportionate assets (DA) case on the ground that the prosecuting agency had not obtained a prior sanction for this purpose from the authorities concerned.

The High Court Bench, headed by Mr Justice Swatantra Kumar, had also rejected Badals’ plea challenging the jurisdiction of the Special Court, Ropar to hold the trial against them. The father and son duo, had challenged the December 19, 2002, notification of the Punjab Government, empowering the Special Court to conduct trial against them in the DA case.

The review petition was moved in the high court by the Badals against the Special Judge’s order of May 29 last, dismissing their application challenging their prosecution for want of sanction and also challenging the territorial jurisdiction of the trial court.