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Bajwa Developers MD nabbed in Mohali after HC snubs DGP
Earlier in May, the high court had issued a show-cause notice to Bajwa as to why he should not be convicted for contempt of court; the bench of justice Rajbir Sehrawat had then asked him to be personally present and submit his response
Jarnail Singh Bajwa, the managing director of realty firm Bajwa Developers Private Limited, was on Thursday arrested in connection with a two-year-old case in which he was declared a proclaimed offender (PO).
Bajwa, who is named in over 50 cases of cheating investors, has been declared PO in multiple cases, said police officials familiar with the matter.
His arrest came in a case from April 18, 2022, registered under Section 174-A (failure of a proclaimed offender to appear before court) of the Indian Penal Code on the complaint of judicial magistrate first class (JMIC) Ravtesh Inderjit Singh.
The JMIC had informed the Sohana station house officer that Bajwa was declared PO on April 1, 2022, in a case of GMADA vs Bajwa Developers.
HC had sought status of probe
Notably, on August 27, the Punjab and Haryana high court had summoned the Punjab director general of police (DGP), seeking details of cases registered against the developer and status of the investigation done by Punjab Police. Ever since, Mohali police had been under pressure to nab Bajwa.
Justice Sandeep Moudgil had also sought details of the cases in which the accused was declared a PO.
Slamming Bajwa’s attitude of considering himself above law, the court had stated that such behaviour was not acceptable to the court and it needed to be dealt with sternly to ensure that law prevailed.
“All are equal before law, but in the instant case, the respondent is seemingly playing hide and seek with the directions of this court, under a mistaken belief and misplaced impression that his might will prevail,” the court stated.
DGP Gaurav Yadav, along with senior police officers, including Mohali SSP Deepak Pareek and DIG Ropar Range Nilambari V Jagadale had appeared before the high court on Wednesday.
Earlier in May, the high court had issued a show-cause notice to Bajwa as to why he should not be convicted for contempt of court. The bench of justice Rajbir Sehrawat had then asked him to be personally present and submit his response.
The matter pertained to the completion of electricity work in Sector 123, Sunny Enclave, Mohali.
Bajwa had failed to produce a completion certificate from state authorities before the court. The state’s counsel had told the court that he had yet to pay outstanding electricity charges.
It was in December 2022, that the developer had given an undertaking that he would complete the work by March, 2023. However, when he failed to comply with the order, the residents had filed a contempt plea, petitioners’ lawyer Rakesh Dhiman said.
As many as 99 residents had moved the high court in 2022, alleging failure by the developer to provide basic infrastructure.
Was booked by vigilance bureau in February
In February this year, the Punjab Vigilance Bureau had registered a case against Bajwa, Punjab chief town planner Pankaj Bawa and revenue patwari Lekh Raj (now retired) on the charges of various irregularities in the residential and commercial projects under GMADA. VB had arrested Bawa in this case.
A VB spokesperson had claimed that during investigation into a complaint, it was found that Bajwa Developers Limited got passed a residential and commercial project from the state government on around 179 acres in villages Sinhpur, Hasanpur and Jandpur in Mohali district, but various irregularities were found.
