The Special CBI Court, Chandigarh, on Friday directed the CBI to ensure that summons issued to prosecution witnesses are served strictly in accordance with law and not through WhatsApp, after noting that repeated instructions in this regard had allegedly not been followed by the summons staff.
Special judge Bhawna Jain directed the head of branch (HOB), CBI ACB Chandigarh, to issue instructions to the summons section incharge and particularly ASI Chamkaur Singh, the serving official, to ensure proper service of court process upon witnesses through legally prescribed modes.
The court also ordered that a copy of the order be forwarded to the HOB, CBI ACB Chandigarh, in a sealed envelope and sought a compliance report from the concerned quarter on the next date of hearing.
The directions came after summons issued to prosecution witness Deepinder Kaur, listed at serial number 7, were received back without due service. The court noted that she had been served through WhatsApp, which was not considered proper service. The witness has now been summoned for August 24, the date already fixed for recording prosecution evidence.
The witness was summoned in Sippy Sidhu murder case, when National-level shooter and lawyer Sukhmanpreet Singh, better known as Sippy Sidhu, was shot dead at a park in Sector 27 on September 20, 2015. His family had accused Kalyani,his fiance, of killing him as they had turned down her marriage proposal.
{{/usCountry}}The witness was summoned in Sippy Sidhu murder case, when National-level shooter and lawyer Sukhmanpreet Singh, better known as Sippy Sidhu, was shot dead at a park in Sector 27 on September 20, 2015. His family had accused Kalyani,his fiance, of killing him as they had turned down her marriage proposal.
{{/usCountry}}The court also considered the request of prosecution witness Akhilesh Kumar (PW-19), who had been bound down to appear on Friday. His request was conveyed through the CBI’s public prosecutor. The prosecutor informed the court that an application would be moved to place on record the witness’s certificate under Section 65-B of the Indian Evidence Act. The court allowed the request for the day and ordered that PW-19 be summoned at a later stage.
Meanwhile, arguments on several applications were deferred. These include an application filed by the accused seeking complete data relating to prosecution witness number 17, as retrieved from the electronic devices of the deceased; an application by the same witness seeking restraint against circulation of her name in the media; an application by the accused seeking restraint against publication of her name in the media; and another application, IA No 15 of 2026.
The matter is now listed for prosecution evidence on August 24, 2026.