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Badals acquitted in corruption case
The special SAS Nagar District Court today acquitted Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, his son Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal, wife Surinder Kaur Badal and seven other main accused in the disproportionate assets case that was filed seven years ago by the Punjab Vigilance Bureau during the then Amarinder Singh government. Prabhjit Singh reports.
The special SAS Nagar District Court on Friday acquitted Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, his son Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal, wife Surinder Kaur Badal and seven other main accused in the disproportionate assets case that was filed seven years ago by the Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) during the then Amarinder Singh government of the Congress.
All the accused stood acquitted of the charges framed against them as there was no incriminating evidence against them, said Special Judge R K Aggarwal in his interim order this morning.
The court however directed the Public Prosecutor, in its second order, to file a complaint against two senior police officers IG B K Uppal and SSP Surinderpal Singh "for perjury" and "for fabricating the evidences" under sections 120 and 183 IPC.
The two senior police officials, who investigated the case with the latter being the Investigating Officer (IO) during their tenure with the VB, had turned hostile along with several other public prosecution witnesses in the last three years.
Besides the Badals, the other accused included Nirottam Singh Dhillon, Harbans Lal, Nirabhjit Singh, darshan Singh, jagnandan Singh, Sukhninder Singh, Kamaljit Singh, Hardeep Singh, Pnky Grover and Krishan Kumar.
The VB had registered an FIR in June 2003 against them under sections 420, 467, 468, 471 and 120 (B) of the IPC, and sections 7, 8, 9, 10 and 13 (1) read with 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1988 that amounts to amassing wealth and assets disproportionate to income and taking bribe.
"We have been saying since beginning that this case was a political vendetta against us and we had trust in judiciary," Sukhbir Badal told reporters after the verdict.
