The Supreme Court, on Friday, refused to entertain a plea by suspended Punjab Police DIG Harcharan Singh Bhullar, seeking stay of the CBI investigation in two FIRs lodged against him in a disproportionate assets case.
A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi said the Punjab and Haryana High Court was seized of a similar plea by Bhullar. The officer has challenged the December 4 order of the high court, which had denied interim relief of stay on the CBI proceedings and adjourned his plea for hearing in January.
When Bhullar's counsel sought direction for deciding on interim relief, CJI Kant said, "It's better we don't open our mouths. Don't invite harsh observations from us."
Senior advocate Vikram Chaudhary, appearing for Bhullar, submitted that the high court erred in adjourning the matter by a month without considering the prayer for interim relief. He submitted that it was a case where the CBI has wrongly assumed jurisdiction in violation of the Delhi Special Police Establishment (DSPE) Act, as the state's consent for the CBI has already been withdrawn.
"The CBI has surreptitiously entered Punjab and circumvented Section 6 of the DSPE Act," he submitted, adding that the high court has not assigned any reason for not giving interim relief, except saying that it was hearing the matter.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the CBI, said regular bail has been denied to Bhullar. The bench said it was not inclined to interfere with the proceedings before the high court and was inclined to dismiss the petition. Sensing the mood of the court, Chaudhary said he wants to withdraw the petition and avail the remedy before the high court. The apex court disposed of the matter.
On October 16, the CBI had arrested Bhullar, along with another person, in connection with a corruption case involving bribery of Rs 8 lakh. It had claimed to have recovered around Rs 5 crore cash, 1.5 kg of jewellery, documents of immovable properties, keys of two luxury vehicles, 22 luxury watches, locker keys, 40 litres of imported liquor, firearms, including a double-barrel gun, a pistol, a revolver and an airgun, along with ammunition, during a raid at Bhullar's residence.
Bhullar was nabbed from his Mohali office following a complaint lodged by a scrap dealer from Mandi Gobindgarh in Fatehgarh Sahib, who accused the senior police officer of demanding recurring monthly payment for "settling" a 2023 FIR against him.
Also read: Bhullar sent to judicial custody till Nov 20
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