Phagwara mayoral polls today: Court grants pre-arrest bail to 21 Cong councillors amid political row
District Congress legal cell president Karanjot Singh Jhikka filed an application under Section 482 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, seeking anticipatory bail, citing fears of false and fabricated FIRs against them due to their political involvement.
Jalandhar
A day before the mayoral elections for the Phagwara municipal corporation, the Kapurthala additional sessions court granted pre-arrest bail to 21 Congress councillors. The councillors had expressed concerns about potential arrests ahead of the election scheduled for February 1.
In its order, the court said: “As the applicants are apprehending their arrest in false case because of political slugfest, in case, any FIR is registered against any of the applicants, they shall not be immediately arrested but 7-day notice be given in compliance of the guidelines.”
District Congress legal cell president Karanjot Singh Jhikka filed an application under Section 482 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, seeking anticipatory bail, citing fears of false and fabricated FIRs against them due to their political involvement.
“The applicants fear wrongful implication in politically motivated cases, leading to unjust detention, harassment, and baseless criminal charges,” Jhikka stated.
However, the court stated: “No application is pending against the applicants of the present bail plea and no case is registered against them. In these circumstances, when no case has been registered, blanket bail to applicants cannot be granted.”
Meanwhile, the court also granted anticipatory bail to the husbands of three Congress councillors who had been booked by district police on January 25.
The FIR alleged that Gurjit Pal Singh Walia, husband of Ward 15 councillor Paramjit Kaur Walia, and Mukesh Kumar Bhatia, husband of Ward 7 councillor Pinky Bhatia, were running illegal immigration businesses without licences and duping young people under the pretext of sending them abroad.
In another case, Dhiraj Ghai, husband of Ward 5 councillor Deepmala, was booked under Sections 303 (theft) and 317 (cheating) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Ghai, a junkyard owner, is accused of purchasing stolen goods from thieves and robbers.
The Punjab and Haryana high court appointed former high court judge Justice Harbans Lal as an independent observer for the Phagwara mayoral elections.
On Friday, congress councillor from ward number 20 Munish Prabhakar, who joined AAP three days, ago rejoined the congress.
The elections were originally scheduled for January 25, following high court orders, but were postponed after chaos erupted during the first meeting of the newly elected councillors. The councillors took their oath of office, but disorder broke out when divisional commissioner Arun Sekhri appointed AAP councillor from Ward 16, Vicky Krishan Sood, as the pro-tem speaker to preside over the election of the mayor, senior deputy mayor, and deputy mayor.
A party needs at least 26 votes to secure these positions in the 50-member House, with the Phagwara MLA also holding a vote as an ex-officio member, bringing the total voting members to 51. Congress currently has the support of 26 councillors, including three from BSP, four independents, and the MLA, while AAP remains 10 councillors short of a majority.