E-Paper
Do not merge protest petition with murder case: Sippy’s kin
Sippy’s brother, Jasmanpreet Singh, had filed a protest petition seeking action against Chandigarh police inspector Poonam Dilawari and former assistant superintendent of police Guriqbal Singh Sidhu, for allegedly destroying evidence in the case.
In their response to the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) Court, the kin of Sippy Sidhu – an advocate who was shot dead in a park in Sector 27 in 2015 – requested that the protest petition filed by them against the Chandigarh Police and the ongoing murder case not be merged.
Sippy’s brother, Jasmanpreet Singh, had filed a protest petition (which allows one to raise an objection against the conclusion of a probe) seeking action against Chandigarh police inspector Poonam Dilawari and former assistant superintendent of police Guriqbal Singh Sidhu, for allegedly destroying evidence in the case.
The victim’s mother, Deepinder Kaur, in the response submitted through their counsel, termed the application filed by the accused, Kalyani Singh, for merging the two cases “totally devoid of merits and against the provisions of law.”
Their counsel submitted that the accused, who has been released on bail, was trying to delay the trial by filing such applications. Seeking dismissal of the petition filed by the accused, they contended that arguments are yet to be advanced in the protest petition, which is filed on totally different grounds, and thus cannot be merged.
Special judicial magistrate Sukhdev Singh directed that the reply be taken on record and a copy be supplied to the accused. The case has been adjourned till December 12 and the investigating official, deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Ravinder Kush, has also been directed to remain present in court.
The defence has submitted an application seeking merging of the supplementary final report, filed under Section 173(8) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), with the final report, submitted by the CBI on November 21.
