Patiala A Rupnagar court on Monday held ruling Aam Aadmi Party MLA Dr Balbir Singh and three others guilty in an 11-year-old assault case. Dr Balbir is an MLA from Patiala Rural constituency.
Additional chief judicial magistrate Ravi Inder Singh convicted Dr Balbir, his son Rahul Saini, wife Rupuinderjit Saini and aide Parminder Singh under IPC sections 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt ), 324 (causing hurt voluntarily to another with dangerous weapons), 325 (punishment for voluntarily causing grievous hurt) and 506 (criminal intimidation).
The judge sentenced the four accused to three-year rigorous imprisonment but granted on-the-spot bail to them on a surety of ₹50,000 each after their lawyers sought time to file an appeal in a higher court. Under section 389 (1) and (2) of CrPC a convicted person (sentence not exceeding three years) can get a bail from a trial court for filing an appeal.
The case was registered against Dr Balbir Singh on June 13, 2011, at Chamkaur Sahib police station, on the complaint of his wife’s sister Paramjit Kaur and her husband Mewa Singh. The police had registered cross-FIRs against both parties under similar IPC sections. The court, however, acquitted Mewa Singh and his wife, while held Dr Balbir and others were held guilty.
In the FIR, it was alleged that Dr Balbir along with his son Rahul and wife Rupinderjit Saini, and their close associate Parminder Singh, attacked Mewa Singh and his wife when they had gone to irrigate their fields in Tapparian Dial Singh village.
{{/usCountry}}In the FIR, it was alleged that Dr Balbir along with his son Rahul and wife Rupinderjit Saini, and their close associate Parminder Singh, attacked Mewa Singh and his wife when they had gone to irrigate their fields in Tapparian Dial Singh village.
{{/usCountry}}During the recently-held assembly polls, Paramjit Kaur had held a press conference alleging that Dr Balbir has grabbed her land and also caused her injuries. She had even challenged his nomination papers alleging that he had concealed section 325 of the IPC in his affidavit submitted before the returning officer.
Dr Balbir said he will challenge the decision. “It was a cross case in which both the parties were booked under similar charges, but we were held guilty. We will appeal against this decision in a higher court. The court has not considered many points raised by our lawyer, including non-presence of my son at the spot of alleged violence,” he said. He claimed that it was a land dispute and the high court had ruled in his favour.
Dr Balbir is also facing a cheating case in connection with the same land dispute as he has been accused of making forged documents and will of his father-in-law. The trial is going on. Dr Balbir had defeated Congress candidate Mohit Mohindra with 53,474 votes in the 2022 assembly elections.