Multani case: SC puts Punjab on notice on Saini’s plea for quashing fresh FIR
CHANDIGARH : The Supreme Court Wednesday sought Punjab government’s reply on a plea by former DGP of Punjab Sumedh Singh Saini seeking quashing of a fresh FIR lodged against him in the 1991 case of alleged murder of a junior engineer Balwant Singh Multani, asking it not to proceed in the matter in a rush.
The Punjab government told the top court that it would make a statement on the next date of hearing of the matter.
The Punjab and Haryana high court had on September 8 dismissed his plea for quashing the case or transferring it to the CBI.
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday sought the Punjab government’s reply on a plea by former director general of police Sumedh Singh Saini, seeking quashing of a fresh FIR lodged against him in the 1991 case of alleged murder of junior engineer Balwant Singh Multani.
A bench of justices Ashok Bhushan, R Subhash Reddy and MR Shah asked the state not to “rush” in the matter and “don’t proceed any further”, while seeking its response within four weeks. The government told the top court that it would make a statement on the next date of hearing.
The Punjab and Haryana high court had on September 8 dismissed Saini’s plea for quashing the case or transferring it to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). On September 15, the apex court granted him interim protection from arrest in the fresh FIR.
During the hearing on Wednesday, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Saini, said that the “illegal and malicious prosecution” of his client should be stopped as one case after the other is being filed in the matter. He said Saini retired as the Punjab DGP in 2018 and the problem with such cases lay in his having lodged five criminal cases against the present chief minister of the state.
“I will show how vindictive the state is in this matter. I am fighting against the state and the chief minister,” Rohatgi said, adding that during Saini’s tenure as the Chandigarh SSP in 1991, there was an attack to kill him. He said following the attack, an FIR was registered and Multani was arrested in December 1991. “It is the case of Multani’s father that his son was tortured by Saini and others and it was the case of the state then that Multani had escaped and was never found,” Rohatgi said.
Rohatgi said Multani was not seen since 1991 and when his father filed a habeas corpus petition in the high court, the state government had said that he escaped from custody. In May this year, an FIR was registered at the instance of Multani’s brother, he added.