Colonel Bath assault case: HC slams Chandigarh Police for delay; directs SP to appear in court

More than three months after the Punjab and Haryana High Court entrusted the investigation of Colonel Pushpinder Singh Bath assault case to the Chandigarh Police, the Bench today directed the superintendent of police heading the special investigation team to be present in the court on the Army officer’s plea. The officer was seeking an independent probe into the matter, preferably by the Central Bureau of Investigation, on the ground as the Chandigarh Police had failed to conduct a “fair and free investigation”.

The direction came as Justice Rajesh Bhardwaj admonished the Chandigarh Police for its failure to arrest any of the accused Punjab Police personnel. Describing the delay as intentional, Justice Bhardwaj asserted the conduct of the police amounted to “setting the wrong example” and protecting the accused.

In his petition, Col Bath asserted the investigation of the instant case was transferred to the Chandigarh Police on April 2. “It is being stated with utmost disappointment that even despite lapse of more than three and a half months of the registration of the FIR and lapse of three months since the investigation has been handed over to the Chandigarh Police, neither a single accused has been arrested so far, nor any has been associated with the investigation.”

The petitioner added that conscious effort on the investigating agency’s part can be cemented from the fact that no non-bailable warrant, no PO proceeding or any other legal proceeding which would be indicative of some conscious and sincere effort, has been initiated on the part of the investigating agency concerned.

Bath further contended that when the bail application of one of the accused, Ronnie Singh, came up for hearing, the high court specifically questioned the investigating officer whether the Chandigarh Police would arrest the accused police official if anticipatory bail was dismissed. “The answer was in affirmative but as worrisome and disappointing as it can be, no such arrest has been made till date,” he asserted.

Bath alleged that the facts clearly pointed towards pressure being exerted upon the Chandigarh Police by the “top brass of the Punjab Police”.

Patiala