The Punjab and Haryana Excessive Court docket has stayed additional proceedings towards former Punjab DGP Sumedh Singh Saini in reference to the murder-disappearance case of Balwant Singh Multani.
The HC is listening to a petition filed by Saini, looking for quashing of the FIR no. 77 registered on Could 6, 2020, towards former Punjab DGP Saini and 6 different policemen in reference to the disappearance of Balwant Singh Multani, who was a junior engineer with the Chandigarh Industrial and Tourism Company at Police Station, Mataur.
The bench of Justice Anoop Chitkara which is listening to the matter requested the state of Punjab to file its reply by November 30, 2024.
The counsel for the petitioner was additionally requested to file parawise counter to the reply by subsequent date of listening to, which is December 10.
Justice Chitkara noticed that “the arguments qua prices shall not be heard until the pendency of the current petition. Additional proceedings past the stage of cognisance shall stay stayed”.
The bench, nevertheless, clarified that “there isn’t any keep of committal proceedings”.
As per studies, Balwant was allegedly picked up by the Chandigarh Police after a bomb assault on Saini, who was then the SSP in Chandigarh in 1991. Saini escaped the assassination. Nevertheless, three safety personnel have been killed and a number of other have been injured. The son of a then serving IAS officer Darshan Singh Multani, Balwant continues to be lacking and his household suspects he was eradicated. As per Saini’s petition, Balwant had escaped the custody after arrest in 1991, and has been declared a proclaimed offender (PO) in 1993.
Amid allegations that Balwant was falsely implicated and tortured on the behest of Saini, a Punjab and Haryana Excessive Court docket bench in 2007 had directed the CBI to conduct a probe. Nevertheless, the CBI’s FIR was quashed by the Supreme Court docket in 2011. Then, in Could 2020, on the criticism of Palwinder Singh, a recent FIR was registered towards Saini and different policemen.
