PARKASH SINGH BADAL Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) SHRI Parkash Singh Badal, earlier the Chief Minister of Punjab and now the leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly of State of Punjab and Mr. Sukhbir Singh Badal, Member of the Lok Sabha, on 16.1.2004 filed an application before the learned Special Judge (exercising powers under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988), Ropar, challenging the very jurisdiction of the Court to take cognizance and try the petitioners for the offences alleged to have been committed by them in the case FIR No. 15 of 24.6.2003, under Sections 420, 467, 468, 471, 120-B IPC and Sections 7, 8, 9, 10, 13(1) read with Section 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, Police Station Vigilance Bureau FS-1, Mohali, Distt. Ropar. In this application the petitioners also questioned the validity and legality of the notification dated 17.11.2003 issued by the Department of Home Affairs and Justice, State of Punjab. The petitioners pressed before the learned Special Judge, Ropar with some emphasis the need for disposal of the application at the very thresh hold and requested that no other further proceedings be taken by the Court till decision of the application. This application of the petitioners was dealt with and disposed of by the learned Special Judge, Ropar vide order dated 29.5.2004. The Court held that it had necessary jurisdiction to take cognizance and try the case in accordance with law. The learned Judge also observed that notification dated 17.11.2003 did not suffer from any jurisdictional or legal infirmity. Accordingly, the Court held that the impugned notification empowers the special Police Station at Mohali to present the challans before the Court of the Special Judge at Ropar and also confers jurisdiction while empowering the said Court to deal with the trial of the cases so presented. Aggrieved from the order passed by the learned Special Judge, Ropar, dated 29.5.2004, the petitioners have approached this Court. They have also questioned the validity, legality and effect of the notification dated 17.11.2003 on the jurisdiction of the Court. In order to discernly analyse the rival contentions raised before the Court by the learned counsel appearing for the respective parties to this petition, reference to necessary facts would be inevitable.

(2.) PETITIONER No. 1 Shri Parkash Singh Badal, after having already remained as Chief Minister of the State of Punjab on two occasions was elected as Member of the Legislative Assembly in 1997 and was again elected as Leader of the Ruling Party and consequently the Chief Minister of the State of Punjab. He occupied this august office till 2002 when again he was elected as Member of the Legislative Assembly in the State of Punjab from his constituency in District Muktsar and presently is the Leader of the Opposition in the State Assembly.

(3.) THE case pleaded on facts by both these petitioners is somewhat similar. According to them Capt. Amarinder Singh, presently the Chief Minister of Punjab, was also in their party i.e. Shiromani Akali Dal. He left the party because he was denied ticket to contest the Assembly Elections in 1997 and joined Congress Party. He became the President of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee. As President of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee on 4.9.2001 he wrote a letter to the petitioner No. 1 stating that the petitioner had amassed vast properties in India and abroad valuing more than Rs. 3,500/- crores and thanked the petitioner for accepting his request for exchange of properties between them. Further according to these petitioners, in the Assembly Elections held in 2002 Capt. Amarinder Singh lodged a highly defamatory campaign against the petitioners and made baseless allegations which compelled both the petitioners to file a suit for damages for the amount of Rs. 5 crores in the Courts at Chandigarh. Open threats were given in Press and otherwise that in the event he succeeded, he would put both the petitioners and their family members behind the bars. Even a criminal complaint was filed for defamation by petitioner No. 1 against the Chief Minister, Capt. Amarinder Singh, on 12.8.2002.