Notice to Punjab DGP, others in molestation case

Chandigarh, Sep 29 (UNI) The Punjab and Haryana High Court today issued notices to the Punjab Home Secretary and the state police chief for October ten when the court would re-assemble after the ten-day break on the issue of alleged molestation of a woman protester by a Punjab cop in Ludhiana recently.

To ensure service of the notices, the division bench of acting Chief Justice Surinder Singh Nijjar and Surinder Singh Saron have ordered the same to be delivered by hand.

The orders came in the wake of the suo mout notice by Justice Hemant Gupta yesterday of the matter reported by The Times of India in its September 28 edition accompanied by a photo of the misdeed.

October ten was the earliest possible date available to call for the Punjab authorities' comments as the high court would remain closed for judicial work from September 30 to October nine.

The matter before the bench has also been raised by the city-based World Human Rights Protection Council (WHRPC) through its president advocate Ranjan Lakhanpal through a public interest litigation (PIL).

As suggested, the court treated Justice Gupta's suo mouto notice as PIL and the same was taken up together with the one preferred by WHRPC .

While Justice Gupta favoured appropriate action in the matter by the acting Chief Justice, the WHRPC president Lakhanpal called for registration of a case followed by a proper probe by the CBI in view of apparent apprehension about an impartial investigation by the Punjab police due to the involvement of their own colleagues.

The courtroom was packed to the capacity when the matter came up for preliminary consideration.

During the brief hearing, Justice Nijjar orally asked Mr Lakhanpal to get hold of the photograph published by the newspaper to ensure against its destruction. On his part, the WHRPC had annexed a clipping of TOI edition carrying the news story but a copy of the TOI was also handed over to the bench by him.

UNI XC PS PK RK2024