Sippy Sidhu murder case: CBI complies with SC order, provides sought documents to Kalyani
National-level shooter and lawyer Sukhmanpreet Singh, better known as Sippy Sidhu, was shot dead at a park in Sector 27, Chandigarh, on September 20, 2015
Complying with Supreme Court’s order, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has provided documents sought by Kalyani Singh, the prime accused in the 2015 Sippy Sidhu murder case.
National-level shooter and lawyer Sukhmanpreet Singh, better known as Sippy Sidhu, was shot dead at a park in Sector 27 on September 20, 2015. His family has claimed that Kalyani, daughter of a former Punjab and Haryana high court judge justice Sabina (retd), killed him as they had turned down her marriage proposal.
The case was initially probed by the Chandigarh Police, but was transferred to CBI in 2016. While Kalyani was arrested by CBI in June 2022, charges are yet to be framed by the trial court amid filing of one or the other pleas by the parties concerned. Kalyani has been out on bail since September 2022.
Before framing of charges, Kalyani had filed an application before the CBI court to supply all documents relied upon by the prosecution. But the trial court rejected the application on the grounds that the documents sought for were not relied upon.
Against this order, Kalyani moved the high court, which allowed her plea on May 8, 2023, and directed the trial court not to frame charges till she is supplied with data.
However, CBI went to the Supreme Court (SC) that, on December 1, 2023, stayed the high court’s order, paving the way for framing of charges. However, SC made it clear that charges, if framed, will be subject to outcome of the case.
On February 6, Kalyani moved the SC seeking documents, which were provided to the victim’s mother.
Subsequently, on February 26, the apex court directed CBI to provide all documents to Kalyani as furnished to victim Sippy Sidhu’s mother.
On Thursday, the probe agency, in compliance with the SC order, supplied to accused the documents, along with a pen drive containing videography of “scene of crime, photographs of birthday party and video of the Maruti Suzuki Zen car at the scene of crime”.
Following this, Kalyani requested the special CBI court, hearing the trial, for some time to scrutinise the provided documents.
While adjourning the case to March 21, the court said, “Presently, the accused has been supplied with all documents which were earlier supplied to the complainant and as such, there is no requirement for de-sealing any record and further supplying any documents to the accused.”
