Senior IPS officer of Punjab cadre Harcharan Singh Bhullar, who was arrested by CBI for allegedly accepting Rs 8 lakh bribe, has withdrawn his petition challenging the jurisdiction of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in Chandigarh, which the Punjab and Haryana High Court accepted and dismissed the petition and allowed him to file fresh and comprehensive petitions challenging the charge sheet.
The matter was heard before a bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Neerja Kulwant Kalsan. Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta, appearing for the CBI, told the court that the issue related to the jurisdiction of the CBI in Chandigarh has been thoroughly investigated and the agency has also prepared its counter affidavit in this regard, which can be filed in the court on the same day.
Tushar Mehta clarified that the main question before the court is whether Chandigarh will be considered as a Union Territory for the purpose of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act and whether the CBI can be established on this basis. gets extensive powers.
During the hearing, the lawyer appearing for Bhullar told the court that there has been a significant change in the circumstances since the previous date. Now the CBI has completed the investigation and the challan has also been submitted, whereas the present petitions were filed when the investigation was still pending. In such a situation, these petitions have lost any practical significance.
He appealed to the court to allow the withdrawal of the present petitions so that new and more comprehensive petitions can be filed challenging the challan. When asked by the court why there would be more than one new petition, Bhullar's lawyer said that two separate FIRs have been registered against him, in which one case is related to assets beyond means while the other is of alleged trapping.
In the previous hearing, Bhullar had strongly argued that under Section 5 of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, the jurisdiction of the CBI is limited to only central government employees in Chandigarh. He had argued that the existing orders issued by the Central Government allow the CBI to take action only against those central employees who are posted in Chandigarh. The CBI itself does not acquire any jurisdiction against the officers of the Punjab or Haryana Government. Bhullar had also argued that the charges against him arose entirely in Punjab and did not have any direct jurisdictional nexus with Chandigarh. On the mere ground that the alleged trap was laid in Chandigarh, the CBI cannot be given the authority to investigate the entire matter.
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