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Bargari sacrilege: Punjab govt files revision petition to seek CBI closure report copy
Challenging the order of special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court questioning Punjab’s locus standi to seek a copy of the closure report in the 2015 Bargari
Challenging the order of special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court questioning Punjab’s locus standi to seek a copy of the closure report in the 2015 Bargari sacrilege case, the government has filed a revision petition.
Punjab government through the revision petition has sought certified copy of the closure report along with copies of documents for its “official use”. Taking up the petition, CBI special judge NS Gill on Tuesday issued notice to the CBI for August 29, 2019, seeking a reply.
The government has also appointed two special public prosecutors — Mohali district attorney Sanjeev Batra and Amritsar district attorney RK Salwan — for pursuing this petition
On July 4, the CBI filed a closure report in three cases of sacrilege — theft of a ‘bir’ of Guru Granth Sahib from a Burj Jawahar Singh Wala village on June 1, 2015; putting up of hand-written sacrilegious posters in Bargari and Burj Jawahar Singh Wala on September 25; and torn pages of ‘bir’ found at Bargari on October 12 . The previous SAD-BJP government had handed over the cases to the CBI in November 2015.
The CBI magistrate had dismissed the application filed by Sarabjit Singh, AIG litigation (crime) on behalf of director, bureau of investigation, Punjab, on July 23.
The state government through its revision petition has submitted, “These three Bargari sacrilege cases (in which closure is filed) are the main cases and the other cases in which the SIT has already filed challans in the appropriate courts in Punjab are the off-shoots of these three main cases. The SIT wants to verify that what is the affect of the closure report on the investigation of other cases and required certified copies of closure report and the other documents.”
The state has reiterated: “Punjab is not a stranger and thus is within right to seek copy.” The state also referred to Punjab and Haryana High Court citation by which “court does not find any infirmity with the decision taken by Punjab government to withdraw the consent for sending the Bargari sacrilege cases to the CBI for investigation.”
