Sippy Murder Case: High Court stays proceedings against UT cop

Chandigarh, July 17

Issuing notice of motion to the UT of Chandigarh, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has stayed further proceedings before the trial court with regard to Assistant Superintendent of Police Guriqbal Singh Sidhu in a matter related to the Sippy Sidhu murder case. The order by Justice Manjari Nehru Kaul of the High Court will stay in operation, at least, till July 29, the next date of hearing in the case.

The matter involves alleged destruction of evidence. It was placed before Justice Kaul after Sidhu filed a petition seeking the quashing of order dated February 26 passed by Special Judge, CBI court, Chandigarh. Senior advocate Bipan Ghai with counsel Nikhil Ghai and Prabhdeep S Bindra contended on his behalf that the CBI court erroneously set aside the order passed by a Judicial Magistrate and remanded the matter back to appreciate afresh the allegations levelled in the protest petition.

Ghai submitted the impugned order was inherently illegal and flawed, as the relief granted exceeded the relief sought. It was asserted that the CBI conducted further investigation leading to the presentation of a supplementary challan against accused Kalyani Singh, “rendering alternative prayer for cognisance qua the petitioner–accused not maintainable”.

He added: “Despite the facts, the CBI court, Chandigarh, erroneously set aside the order passed by the special Judicial Magistrate and remanded the matter back.”

The bullet-riddled body of national-level shooter and lawyer Sukhmanpreet Singh Sidhu, alias Sippy Sidhu (35), was found in a park in Sector 27 on September 20, 2015. Sippy was the grandson of the late Justice SS Sidhu, a former Punjab and Haryana High Court judge. The case was later transferred to the CBI in April 2016.