The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Friday restrained Punjab from submitting challans in an FIR registered at police station Baja Khana (Faridkot) over alleged posters containing derogatory remarks concerning the Guru Granth Sahib.
Petitioner Sukhjinder Singh alias Sunny has sought quashing of the order handed by Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMIC), Faridkot on June 8 in FIR No. 117, asking him to submit samples of his handwriting. the posters.
The FIR states that on September 24 and 25, 2015, some posters containing derogatory remarks in opposition to the Sri Guru Granth Sahib and a few leaders of Sikhism have been pasted exterior an SGPC-run gurdwara in Bargari village.
Sukhjinder’s counsel RK Handa and Dharam Bir Bhargava have challenged the motion of the Police/SIT (Special Investigation Team) in sending samples of his handwriting for comparability with these on the purported poster, regardless of the objections.
The advocates argued that the prosecution has no proper to current the appliance earlier than the trial courtroom and acquire specimen handwriting of the petitioner Sukhjinder as in comparison with the handwriting within the alleged posters through the course of investigation. The advocates submitted that the CBI has already obtained samples of their consumer’s handwriting and in contrast them with the posters from the Central Forensic Science Laboratory, New Delhi. The CFSL submitted its report on August 27, 2018, through which it said that the writing of the petitioner doesn’t match with these of the objectionable posters. The CBI has already submitted a closure report on July 4, 2019, earlier than the Special Magistrate of the CBI Court in Mohali and said that the petitioner and different accused have been harmless.
The petitioner’s counsel additional argued that the SIT was competent solely to analyze the matter additional and to not re-examine it, and in addition that the CBI, after getting samples of the petitioner’s handwriting as in comparison with the CFSL , the Police/SIT had no proper to be despatched once more. Same for comparability.
Thus, the advocates argued, that the order of JMIC, Faridkot was wholly unlawful and never maintainable within the eyes of legislation.
A bench of Justice Harnaresh Singh Gill, after listening to the matter, issued discover of movement for July 15, 2021. The bench additional ordered, “The state has been restrained from filing challan in this matter till the next date of hearing.”
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With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
