The Punjab and Haryana high court granted bail to Kalyani Singh in the Sippy Sidhu murder case on Tuesday and reprimanded the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) over its investigation.
A single bench of justice Sureshwar Thakur, said, “Prima facie (the CBI has) chosen to ill indulge in taking the services of tutored and planted witnesses rather merely for solving the crime.”
It further added that the CBI probe lacked objectivity and suggested that with the permission of the court concerned, the agency make “threadbare further investigations” about uninvestigated facets relating to the crime.
“The judicial conscience of this court feels that the above further investigations may ultimately result in all the offenders concerned being brought to inculpation. Moreover, also hence complete justice would be done to the aggrieved besides to the society at large,” the court said.
Sukhmanpreet Singh alias Sippy Sidhu (35), who ran a law firm – M/s Sippy Sidhu LLB – in Mohali, was shot dead by unidentified persons at a park in Sector 27 in Chandigarh on September 20, 2015.
Kalyani, daughter of Himachal Pradesh high court judge Sabina Singh, was arrested on June 15 this year based on documentary evidence suggesting that she and Sidhu were in a romantic relationship that later turned sour, CBI officers had said earlier.
{{/usCountry}}Kalyani, daughter of Himachal Pradesh high court judge Sabina Singh, was arrested on June 15 this year based on documentary evidence suggesting that she and Sidhu were in a romantic relationship that later turned sour, CBI officers had said earlier.
{{/usCountry}}The court said that evidence such as the content of emails exchanged between them ahead of the fateful day reflected “deep trust” between Kalyani and Sidhu.
It also reflected that some persons were targeting Sidhu. However, the roles of such persons have not been investigated by the CBI.
“(CBI) has prima facie taken all misfounded clues only from the victim-aggrieved. Thus, has completely abandoned as was required to make threadbare and objective investigations,” the bench remarked. The CBI worked only to solve the crime, “but without any prima facie tangible evidence” against Kalyani Singh.
Sippy family’s lawyer, senior advocate RS Bains, said, “The bail should have been granted after considering fresh evidence submitted by the CBI in the charge sheet. It is unfair to the complainant (Sippy family). We are disappointed.”
Sidhu’s brother Jasmanpreet Singh said they are exploring options to challenge the order before Supreme Court. Kalyani had approached the high court for bail on July 27 after her plea was dismissed by a trial court.