₹28 crore compensation claimed on false affidavits, ex-Lt Gen’s kin in dock as HC orders CBI probe
The Punjab and Haryana high court has noted that the role of an AAP leader has not been investigated at all “despite him repeatedly approaching the authorities in support” of the accused.
The Punjab and Haryana high court has ordered a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into allegations of claiming ₹28 crore compensation in a land acquisition case by filing false affidavits by the family members of a former Lt General in Ludhiana. The court also said the Punjab Police did not examine the role of an Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Ahbaab Singh Grewal, who received a huge amount of money from the beneficiaries.
The land in question belonged to Lt General Sant Singh, who died in 1975. While the property dispute proceedings were underway before a Ludhiana court, Amarjeet Kaur, wife of his son Sardool Singh and her two daughters—Sanjeet Kaur and Geetinder Kaur— filed a claim for land compensation with three different affidavits that there was no litigation pending on the property.
The affidavits were filed by Amarjeet, with power of attorney from both the daughters. The amount of ₹28 crore was released to all three of them in 2021 for the land acquired by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) for the purposes of the Delhi-Katra Expressway.
When Suneet Kaur, daughter of Lt General, who was party to the pending property dispute, came to know about it, she complained to the SSP (Rural) Ludhiana alleging that while civil proceedings were underway, compensation was secured by the trio using false affidavits.
Ludhiana police filed a criminal case against Amarjeet Kaur but exonerated her daughters. It was against this decision of the police that Suneet approached the high court seeking a probe by an independent agency.
The bench of justice Jasjit Singh Bedi, after perusing documents of the case observed that the daughters have been exonerated on “farcical grounds”. “They were aware that the civil proceedings were pending. They received crores of rupees in their bank accounts as compensation for the acquired land. Stamp papers had been purchased by them. Merely because they had given powers of attorney to their mother cannot absolve them of their apparent culpability,” the court recorded adding that during the probe the SP (Headquarters), Ludhiana, had come to the correct conclusion of their liability as well as that of their mother, but this was overlooked.
‘Role of AAP leader’
It further said that the role of the AAP leader has not been investigated at all “despite him repeatedly approaching the authorities in support” of the mother and the daughters. “He has also received a huge amount of money in his bank account from Amarjeet Kaur. These aspects have been deliberately overlooked by the investigating agency,” the court observed further also questioning the role of an advocate engaged by the family.
“A perusal of the record would also reveal that the SDM, Ludhiana through whom the money was released into the accounts of the accused has neither chosen to file a complaint against the accused for the filing of false affidavits and nor has he been made a prosecution witness. This apparently shows that the report under Section 173 CrPC (challan) was designed in a manner so as to weaken the prosecution case,” the court further recorded.
The court also questioned how the mother was granted bail by police in a non-bailable offence.
“It is thus apparent from the record that the investigation has not proceeded in a fair and unbiased manner. In fact, it has been conducted with a view to weaken the case of the petitioner/complainant. The active role of respondent No.5 (AAP leader) and others in perpetrating the fraud and interfering with the investigation cannot be ruled out. Therefore, in order to ensure a free, fair and unbiased investigation, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is directed to conduct the investigation,” it said transferring the probe into the October 15, 2022 FIR of police station Dakha, to CBI and asking it to complete the probe in six months.