E-Paper
Second judge recuses from hearing plea involving Khaira
The ED arrested Khaira, a former Punjab MLA, on November 11 under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA)
Chandigarh A Punjab and Haryana high court judge on Thursday recused from hearing a plea by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) involving Congress leader Sukhpal Singh Khaira. The bench of justice Lisa Gill ordered that matter be listed before some other bench after obtaining orders from the chief justice.
On Wednesday, the bench of justice Amol Rattan Singh had recused from hearing the case, while ordering that “..this petition be listed before another bench tomorrow itself, i.e. November 25, 2021, after obtaining orders in that regard from the honourable chief justice.”
Both the judges have not specified reasons for their recusal. The matter will now be taken up by the bench of justice Sureshwar Thakur on Friday.
The short date for hearing was allowed by both the benches as additional solicitor general of India, SV Raju, who had appeared for the ED had submitted that the period of 15 days of custody with central agency, expires on November 26, and hence the matter be listed on priority. In its plea, the ED has challenged a Mohali court order, which denied it custody of Khaira and sent him to judicial custody on November 18, a lawyer associated with the case said.
Khaira, was arrested by the central agency on November 11. The urgency shown by ED is borne out of the fact that after 15 days of custody, it won’t be able to seek Khaira’s remand, another lawyer added. The Mohali court had sent him to judicial custody, even as ED had sought seven-day remand on November 18.
The ED arrested Khaira, a former Punjab MLA, on November 11 under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The central probe agency had raided his premises in March this year and proceedings have been initiated in connection with a 2015 First Information Report (FIR). Nine persons were convicted on October 31, 2017 in the case by a trial court and sentenced to imprisonment, ranging between 3 years and 20 years, for trans-border heroin smuggling.
In the same order, the court had summoned Khaira as “additional accused”. In December 2017, the Supreme Court had stayed his summoning order.
Khaira had won the assembly election in 2017 from the Bholath assembly seat in Kapurthala district on an Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) ticket. He resigned from the primary membership of the Arvind Kejriwal-led party in January 2019, and floated his own outfit, the Punjab Ekta Party. He joined the Congress in June this year.
