Punjab High Court extends protection from arrest to Tajinder Bagga till July 6

Bagga, who was arrested on Friday by the Punjab Police from his house in Delhi’s Janakpuri, was ‘recovered’ by the Haryana Police that intercepted the Punjab Police on its way to Mohali, in Kurushetra. Bagga was handed over to the Delhi Police which brought him back to Delhi.

The Punjab and Haryana high court on Tuesday extended till July 6 the protection from arrest granted to Delhi BJP leader Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga in a case registered against him in Mohali pertaining to making provocative statements, promoting enmity and criminal intimidation.

BJP leader Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga in Janakpuri, New Delhi, May 7, 2022 (Sanchit Khanna/HT PHOTO)

“Given the concessions made by the learned advocate general, the warrants of arrest issued against the petitioner by the court concerned (in Mohali) in the present FIR shall not be executed till the next date of hearing. Furthermore, no coercive steps shall be taken against the petitioner till the next date of hearing,” a bench of justice Anoop Chitkara said.

On Saturday, a local court in Mohali issued a warrant of arrest against Bagga, but in a dramatic turn of events, the Punjab and Haryana high court allowed an urgent appeal by Bagga against the warrant order, and assigned a hearing that was held at justice Chitkara’s house. The judge then ordered that no coercive action be taken against the accused (Bagga) till May 10. On Tuesday, the court extended the same protection.

Bagga, who was arrested on Friday by the Punjab Police from his house in Delhi’s Janakpuri, was ‘recovered’ by the Haryana Police that intercepted the Punjab Police on its way to Mohali, in Kurushetra. Bagga was handed over to the Delhi Police which brought him back to Delhi.

He had moved the high court seeking quashing of the FIR lodged against him on April 1 in Mohali.

The high court on Tuesday did not stay the investigation in the case, but made it clear that the Punjab Police could interrogate Bagga at his residence in Delhi, and that too only twice before the next of hearing in the case (July 6).

The judge ordered that no charge sheet shall be filed in the matter by the Punjab Police till the next date of hearing, Additional Solicitor General Satya Pal Jain, who appeared in the court on behalf of the Delhi Police, said after the proceedings.

Senior advocate Chetan Mittal, who is representing Bagga in the case, said it was submitted before the court that they suspect the Punjab Police will take another step against the petitioner and thus, his arrest and the investigation must be stayed completely.

Talking to reporters after the hearing, senior advocate Puneet Bali, Punjab’s counsel in the case, said, “Unfortunately, the police of two states got him (Bagga) released from our legal custody, which is a serious issue. Secondly, he (Bagga) has been told to join the investigation,” Bali said.