SIMERJIT KAUR Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This order will dispose of two criminal miscellaneous petitions filed under Ss. 482 Cr.P.C. for directing that the investigation of FIR no.16 dated 13.02.20221 registered under Ss. 21 and 29 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, Act, 1985 (in short "NDPS Act") at Police Station Sultanwind, District Amritsar, be conducted fairly and impartially by an independent agency like Crime Branch or any other agency.

(2.) The first petition, i.e. CRM-M-21182-2021 has been filed by Simerjit Kaur wife of Varinderjit Singh @ Goldy (accused in FIR no.16 dtd. 13/2/2021) and the second petition i.e. CRM-M-25554-2021 has been filed by Kawaljit Kaur wife of Harpreet Singh (accused in FIR no.16 dtd. 13/2/2021). With the consent of all the parties, CRM-M-21182-2021 filed by Simerjit Singh has been taken up as main case and the facts have been taken from the said petition.

(3.) It is the case of the petitioners that their husbands have been falsely implicated in the above said FIR. Simerjit Kaur has stated that her marriage had taken place with Varinderjit Singh @ Goldy on 15/4/2002 and she and her husband are government teachers and her husband is posted as ETT teacher in Government Elementary School, Dhagana, Block Patti, District Tarn Taran and they are hard working and honest persons and there is no earlier criminal case registered against them. It is further pointed out that the election for Municipal Committee and Nagar Panchayat were to be held in the State of Punjab on 14/2/2021 and the husband of the petitioner had been deputed as Booth Level Officer in the earlier elections by virtue of his posting as a government teacher and was aware regarding electorate of the area and on 13/2/2021, the husband of the petitioner received a call from one Sanjeev Kumar, who was known to the husband of the petitioner and whose wife Mrs. Rama Rani was contesting elections from Ward no.9 of Tehsil Patti, District Tarn Taran as a candidate of the Aam Aadmi Party, seeking help from the husband of the petitioner to identify the voters who had left the ward due to shifting of their house, death, marriage etc. as the said candidate was fearing that the ruling party would use those candidates to cast bogus votes in their favour to win the elections. It has been averred in the petition that on the request of said Sanjeev Kumar, the husband of the petitioner had met him and with his own hand made notes/identifications on the the voter list of Ward no.9, specific identification was made with respect to persons who were no longer available in the area at the time of elections. It has further been averred that apparently someone gave information regarding the said exercise to the members of the ruling party and also to the husband of the candidate who was contesting from Ward no.9 from the Congress party and the husband of the petitioner, in spite of making requests and giving explanation, could not pacify the concerned person, who thus, being annoyed with the petitioner on the said account, falsely implicated the husband of the petitioner in the present case. The incident in question, as per the petitioner, has been detailed in paragraph 8 of the petition, in which it has been stated that on 13/2/2021 at about at 8:10 PM, the husband of the petitioner entered into the parking of the Best Price Showroom in his car along with Gagandeep Singh and Harpreet Singh (husband of the petitioner in CRM-M-25554-2021). It has been further alleged that at the behest of the MLA, the police party including Investigating Officer Resham Singh (respondent no.8), Inspector Inderjit Singh (respondent no.7) and Vishal alias Pehalwan (respondent no.9) and other police officials illegally detained the husband of the petitioner and Harpeet Singh from the parking compound of Best Price in an Innova car and at the said time, the police officials were in plain clothes. It has been averred that Gagandeep Singh was permitted to go and after that, Varinderjit Singh @ Goldy and Harpreet Singh were made to sit in the Innova car by the police officials and respondent no.9 came back from the exit of the parking and drove the car of the husband of the petitioner which is in the name of the petitioner, i.e. Swift car bearing registration no.PB-46- AC-8380 and followed the Innova car in which the two accused had been made to sit by the police officials and the entire incident had been captured in CCTV camera installed in the parking lot of the Best Price, Amritsar, which had been ordered to be preserved vide order dtd. 5/3/2021 passed by the learned Judge, Special Court, Amritsar, on an application moved by counsel for Varinderjit Singh @ Goldy and the said order has been annexed as Annexure P-3 with the present petition. It has also been averred that the police officials drove the car towards Amritsar. It has also been averred that thereafter, Varinderjit Singh @ Goldy and Harpreet Singh were falsely implicated in the said FIR in which it was alleged that the recovery of 300 grams of heroin had been effected from them and they had been arrested at 10:30 PM from the area of Dubarji Turn, Link Road, Lakha Singh Plots, Amritsar. It has also been submitted that the wife of Varinderjit Singh @ Goldy had given a detailed representation dtd. 6/5/2021 (Annexure P-5) to respondents no.2 to 4 and wife of Harpreet Singh had given a representation dtd. 3/3/2021 to various police authorities including respondents no.2,3,5 in CRM-M-2554-2021, informing them about the said false implication. It has been argued on behalf of the petitioners that in the present petition, specific allegation has been made against the investigating team, i.e. respondents no.6 to 9. It has also been submitted that when the present matter had come up for hearing on 2/7/2021, a coordinate Bench of this court was pleased to direct that final report under Sec. 173 Cr.P.C. be not presented before the competent court. It has further been pointed out that Varinderjit Singh @ Goldy and Harpreet Singh had filed two criminal miscellaneous petitions, i.e. CRM-M-30902-2021 and CRM- M-33273-2021 under Sec. 439 Cr.P.C. for grant of regular bail in the FIR in question in which similar allegations, as have been made in the present petition, had been made. It has been submitted that this Court after considering the arguments raised by the petitioners and also noticing the averments made by the parties, vide order dtd. 7/4/2022, was pleased to allow both the petitions and ordered the release of the said Varinderjit Singh @ Goldy and Harpreet Singh on regular bail. It has further been pointed out that perusal of the said order would show that it had been noticed therein that a coordinate Bench of this Court vide order dtd. 2/3/2022 had directed that the CCTV footage in question be produced in the Court on 17/3/2022 and on 17/3/2022, a further direction had been given to the District and Sessions Judge, Amritsar, to see the said CCTV footage and to then submit his report and further District and Sessions Judge, Amritsar, in pursuance of the said order, had submitted his report dtd. 28/3/2022 and after considering the said report and the entire material on record, it was found that there were specific allegations against the police officials and there was a possibility of false implication in the case. It is, thus, vehemently prayed that the investigation in the present FIR be transferred to any independent agency for instance, the Punjab Bureau of Investigation.