Chandigarh, January 17
The method of arresting former director-general of police S.S. Virk, “in gross violation of the rules”, was taken into consideration, by the Punjab and Haryana High Court while ordering fresh probe in a corruption case against him.

Punjab government’s move to constitute a special investigating team, with senior superintendent of police Surinder Pal Singh as a member, for probing the case, also backfired, apparently.

In his 29-page judgement on Virk’s plea for handing over the investigations to the CBI, Justice H.S. Bhalla of the High Court ruled: “The manner in which the petitioner was arrested adds another feather to the cap of mala fide.

There is nothing on record to spell out or to reflect upon the question as to whether it was necessary to arrest the petitioner at all in a case of amassing assets disproportionately to his known sources of income. It does not require such an arrest for effective investigation, especially at the initial stage. The respondents have not been able to justify that the owner was not exercised in a mechanical manner.”

On the constitution of the special investigating team, Justice Bhalla ruled: “I fail to understand why a special team was required to be constituted, especially when it is an ordinary case under the Prevention of Corruption Act, which was registered on account of amassing property disproportionately to his known sources of income. Even if the case was registered against the petitioner, who was a former director-general of police, that does not mean it requires special treatment for investigation.

Every case is to be tried by the law of the land, and a case registered under the law does not require any special treatment by way of forming a special team for investigation. The additional advocate-general, appearing for the state of Punjab, has not been able to furnish a plausible explanation in this regard.”

Justice Bhalla further ruled: “So far as the contention raised by counsel (for the petitioner) is concerned that Surinder Pal Singh is the complainant and the investigation officer, this court is of the view that he has cited number of instances and sufficient material on the basis of which it can be inferred that the stand is justified. The role played by Surinder Pal Singh is further authenticated from the fact that it was he who was heading the party when the petitioner was arrested at Delhi.

The arresting team had failed to give any information to Delhi Police or local magistrate. Counsel for the petitioner has rightly submitted that the arrest of the petitioner was in gross violation of the Punjab Police Rules, which are statutory in nature.”