HC stays CBI proceedings in bribery allegations against Chandigarh Police

The court order came on Malhotra’s plea who in 2022 was accused of sexually harassing a woman. An FIR was registered in April 2022 and Malhotra was arrested

The Punjab and Haryana high court has stayed a probe by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into alleged bribery allegations against the Chandigarh Police in an alleged sexual harassment case involving Nexus Malls (Elante Mall) executive director Anil Malhotra.

It is learnt the probe was initiated by the CBI on a reference by Punjab governor and UT administrator Banwarilal Purohit about the case in which then senior superintendent of police (SSP) Kuldeep Singh Chahal faced allegations of delaying the probe. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

The court order came on Malhotra’s plea who in 2022 was accused of sexually harassing a woman. An FIR was registered in April 2022 and Malhotra was arrested. But subsequently, a cancellation report was filed by Chandigarh Police, which was accepted by the court.

It is learnt the probe was initiated by the CBI on a reference by Punjab governor and UT administrator Banwarilal Purohit about the case in which then senior superintendent of police (SSP) Kuldeep Singh Chahal faced allegations of delaying the probe. Chahal was unceremoniously sent back to his parent cadre Punjab in December 2022, 10 months before his three-year inter-cadre deputation was to end. The preliminary probe by CBI was initiated in January 2023.

As per the plea, Malhotra claimed CBI is unnecessarily harassing and humiliating the petitioner by summoning/calling him purportedly pursuant January 2023 proceedings. The plea claims Malhotra is now being harassed and pressurised to depose against the Chandigarh Police on the pretext that Chandigarh Police had taken money for submission of cancellation report. However, he claims the woman herself had appeared in the court and submitted that she was satisfied with the cancellation report and that she did not want to pursue the case.