Punjab and Haryana High Court quashes FIR against IGP

Saurabh Malik

Chandigarh, May 4

More than two years after Punjab Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Gautam Cheema was booked in a case alleged abduction, trespass, criminal conspiracy, wrongful confinement and other offences, the Punjab and Haryana High Court today quashed the FIR registered against him and another accused.

The ruling by Justice Arvind Singh Sangwan came on petitions against the Central Bureau of Investigation and other respondents by Cheema and the other accused through senior counsel Bipan Ghai with Rishabh Singla.

Justice Sangwan observed that the allegations levelled in the FIR were that the complainant, ASI Dilbagh Singh, received information at the Mohali Phase I police station that a proclaimed offender, Sumedh Gulati, was present at Max Hospital. He was later taken in custody. In the meantime, Cheema came in an inebriated condition and took Gulati with him in his private car.

Asserting that the allegations were not established, Justice Sangwan observed that there was no medical record that Cheema was in an inebriated condition. Also, there was no CCTV footage to show Cheema visited the Phase I police station. Even the DDR entry showing the arrest of Gulati was not there.

Justice Sangwan added that the CBI investigation showed that Cheema came in a separate car. Gulati, along with his wife, was in another car. ASI Dilbagh Singh came in a third car. Later, Dilbagh Singh took Gulati with him. Thereafter, he registered a DDR in the police station regarding his arrest.

“The investigation is silent about any evidence to prove the visit of Cheema to the police station, where he allegedly abducted Gulati. Rather, the investigation reveals that it is petitioner Aryan Singh who informed Cheema about the movement of Gulati, and Cheema told him to inform the police,” Justice Sangwan asserted.

Before parting with the case, Justice Sangwan observed that as per the investigation, both petitioners, being vigilant citizens, rightly informed the police about the free movement of a proclaimed offender. Therefore, the prosecution of petitioner-Aryan Singh in just informing the police about Gulati’s presence was nothing but the misuse of the process of law as every citizen was duty bound to inform the police in such circumstances.

Justice Sangwan added that the investigation belied the police FIR version of ASI Dilbagh Singh that Cheema forcibly took Gulati in his car. The hospital CCTV footage clearly showed Gulati and his wife came in a different car.