50 bombs claim: HC asks Punjab not to arrest Bajwa till April 22
The FIR, filed on Sunday, stems from remarks made by Bajwa last week when he alleged that 50 grenades had entered Punjab, of which 18 had already exploded, while 32 remained active
Chandigarh
The Punjab and Haryana high court on Wednesday stayed the arrest of leader of Opposition (LOP) in the Punjab assembly Partap Singh Bajwa till April 22 in connection with the case registered against him over his “50 bombs have reached the state” remarks.
Justice Deepak Gupta gave the order on a plea moved by the Gurdaspur legislator seeking the quashing of the first information report (FIR) lodged against him by Mohali police.
“Though the petitioner shall continue to join the investigation, as and when called by the investigating officer of the case, but no coercive action shall be taken against him till the next date of hearing. It is further directed that in the meantime, the petitioner will not make any press statement regarding the present case,” the bench ordered while seeking a report from the Punjab government.
The FIR, filed on Sunday, stems from remarks made by Bajwa during an interview with a television channel last week, when he alleged that 50 grenades had entered Punjab, of which 18 had already exploded, while 32 remained active and unexploded. The case was registered on the complaint of a cyber police constable, who said that by making such a statement, Bajwa had intended to disturb public peace and tranquillity, creating a sense of fear, ill will, and enmity among different communities.
Bajwa was booked under Sections 197(1)(d) (false and misleading information that endangers the country’s sovereignty and unity) and 353(2) (false statements intended to create enmity and hatred or ill will) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Bajwa moved the high court seeking directions to quash the FIR, alleging that the case was lodged to “settle a political score” with him. “The FIR has been registered in order to settle a political score with the petitioner. The political vengeance is writ large (in the given case),” Bajwa’s plea said, adding that police dealt with the matter in a “casual and callous manner”.
During the hearing, his counsel, former advocate general, APS Deol, submitted that Bajwa was of leader of Opposition, holding a cabinet rank and was espousing cause of the general public regarding the deteriorating law and order situation in the state. So, there could be no question of creating any disharmony and the FIR was registered to gag the fundamental right of freedom of speech and expression guaranteed under Article 19 of the Constitution of India, Deol submitted.
On the other hand, state’s counsel Deepinder Brar told the court that the claims made by the petitioner were not confined to the news report in question. Infact, the petitioner had claimed that he had information regarding the location of unused grenades. A detailed report in this regard would be filed by the next date of hearing, Brar told the court.
