Special court dismisses applications of Badals

Rupnagar, Jan 15 (UNI) Rupnagar Special Judge G S Saran today dismissed most of the applications filed by the various accused including former Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal in the disproportionate assets and corruption case registered against them.

The Judge has fixed January 19 as next date for consideration on framing of the charges against the accused.

Mr Saran dismissed the applications filed by the accused Parkash Singh Badal, Harbans Lal and Nirabjit Singh for summoning of witnesses and documents before framing of charges against them.

The Judge also dismissed the application, in which it had been prayed that the copies of supplementary challan presented against four accused should also be supplied to the other accused and copies of original challan presented against six accused be supplied to the four accused against whom supplementary challan was filed in the court.

The Judge also dismissed the application moved by accused Nirabjit Singh, who was Sub-Inspector in Chandigarh Police, for dropping of proceedings against him for want of sanction. However, the Judge allowed his application seeking an enquiry into alleged tampering of judicial record as to how for sanction had been placed on record by the prosecution.

On the application filed by Mr Badal for initiating contempt proceedings against Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh for interfering in judicial process by making statements regarding use of case property in the election campaign during last Lok Sabha elections in May 2004, the Judge ordered that the application should be separated from the main case and asked the applicant to file an affidavit in this regard in the court first.

The court allowed the application of the accused for supply of copies of the original video cassettes pertaining to case as the VCDs supplied earlier to the accused were blurred. Upon this prosecution supplied the five video cassettes, which were copies of the original video cassettes of the case properties, to the accused.

Mr Badal and his son Sukhbir Singh Badal did not appear in the court and their counsels sought exemption from personal appearance, which was granted by the court.

It is pertinent to mention here that court heard the arguments on these applications on January 10 and reserved his orders on the same for today.

UNI