SC dismisses CBI plea for probe in Punjab sacrilege cases

THE SC DISMISSED THE PLEA CITING DELAY IN APPEALING THE VERDICT TURNING DOWN THE AGENCY’S CHALLENGE TO THE GOVT’S MOVE

NEWDELHI:THE Supreme Court on Thursday refused to interfere with the Punjab government’s move to withdraw consent to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to probe the 2015 sacrilege incidents in the state while questioning the agency’s insistence on investigating the matter.

A Justice Rohinton Narimanled bench dismissed a CBI plea citing delay in appealing the Punjab & Haryana high court’s verdict turning down the agency’s challenge to the state government move a year back.

“You want to investigate into a case like this when you have so many other problems,” Justice Nariman remarked.

In November 2015, Punjab’s previous Shiromani Akali Dalled government handed over the investigation into three cases of sacrilege of the Sikh scripture that year to the CBI.

When the Congress came to power in the state in 2017, chief minister Amarinder Singh took the probe into the cases back from the CBI, which challenged the move before the high court. The high court dismissed the agency’s plea in January 2019, saying it did not “feel the necessity to interfere in the decision of the state government.”

The CBI insisted on continuing with the probe and had in July 2019 filed a closure report. In the report, the agency exonerated three Dera Sacha Sauda followers, Mohinder Pal Bittu, Sukhjinder Singh and Shakti Singh, who were named as the conspirators in the cases.

The Punjab government filed protest petitions before a special trial court against the CBI’S insistence on continuing with the probe. It submitted that the agency has no jurisdiction to deal with the cases once the state withdrew the consent.

Following the top court’s refusal to interfere, Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh on Thursday said the special investigation team of Punjab police will now probe into the cases.

Making the announcement in the state assembly, Singh said, “I want to make an announcement and I think the entire House will appreciate it. You all know about the issue of Behbal Kalan and Bargari which had been going on for long... It is a matter of joy today that the decision of the House has been upheld by the SC and the CBI has lost the case.”