Jalandhar senior deputy mayor gets bail from Punjab and Haryana HC
Senior deputy mayor Jalandhar and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Kamaljeet Singh Bhatia on Friday got bail from Punjab and Haryana high court in a matter, wherein he had been convicted by a district and sessions court, recently.
Senior deputy mayor Jalandhar and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Kamaljeet Singh Bhatia on Friday got bail from Punjab and Haryana high court in a matter, wherein he had been convicted by a district and sessions court, recently.
Last week, the Akali leader was sentenced to two-year imprisonment and a fine of Rs 500 by the district and sessions court, Jalandhar, for a case registered against him in December 2000 on a complaint from the then MC joint commissioner Krishan Kumar that Bhatia had attacked him while he was supervising the demolition of encroachments at a locality in December 2000.
The appeal in this case, filed earlier this week, had sought the quashing of the lower court order and demanded bail, stating that lower court judgment was 'misreading of facts' and misrepresentation of chain of events of the episode by the prosecution.
Arguing for the petitioner senior advocate RS Rai submitted that during the trial he was on bail and also submitted that prosecution in this case had acted in a "biased" manner in the investigations and "mandatory approval of prosecution sanction" was not taken, in spite of the fact that Bhatia was a public servant.
"In this view of the matter and the fact that the revision is not likely to mature for final hearing and disposal in the near future, no useful purpose will be served by keeping the applicant/petitioner behind bars in the present case," the high court bench of justice Fateh Deep Singh said, while suspending his conviction.
It was also ordered that Bhatia be released on bail. The case has been admitted for hearing and response sought from the state government.
Bhatia had been booked under Sections 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions) and 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) of the IPC.
In his complaint, Kumar had alleged that Bhatia had caught hold of his shirt and threatened that he would hurt his family.
CASE BY FORMER JALANDHAR MUNICIPAL COMMISSIONER
Last week, the Akali leader was sentenced to two-year imprisonment and a fine of `500 by the district and sessions court, Jalandhar, for a case registered against him in December 2000 on a complaint from the then MC joint commissioner Krishan Kumar that Bhatia had attacked him while he was supervising the demolition of encroachments at a locality in December 2000.
Bhatia had been booked under Sections 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions) and 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) of the IPC.