SC to hear ex-Punjab DGP Sumedh Saini’s plea for anticipatory bail on Tuesday

Satya Prakash
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, September 14

The Supreme Court will on Tuesday take up an anticipatory bail plea filed by former Punjab Director General of Police Sumedh Singh Saini—an accused in the 1991 Balwant Singh Multani murder case.

Saini’s petition is listed for hearing before a three-judge Bench of Justice Ashok Bhushan, Justice R Subhas Reddy and Justice MR Shah as item number 27.

Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi is likely to appear for Saini who had moved an anticipatory bail petition in the Supreme Court last week to avoid his imminent arrest. Police have been conducting raids at various hideouts to nab him.

Saini has challenged the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s September 7 order dismissing his anticipatory bail plea in the Multani kidnapping and murder case.

The Punjab Police have also filed a caveat to pre-empt Saini from getting any ex-parte relief from the top court which is likely to take up his plea next week.

If he doesn’t get relief from the top court, he will have to surrender.

Multani—a junior engineer with Chandigarh Industrial and Tourism Corporation—was allegedly picked up by the police in December 1991 after a terror attack on Saini that killed three policemen. Saini was injured in the attack.

Saini’s troubles started in May, when he was booked at a police station in Mohali along with six others for the alleged kidnapping of Multani in 1991. Murder charge was added in August after two of the accused policemen spilled the beans.

Saini is also facing trial in a Special CBI Court in Delhi along with three others for alleged abduction of automobile businessman Vinod Kumar, his brother-in-law Ashok Kumar and their driver Mukhtiyar Singh. While Vinod and Mukhtiyar were picked up by the police from the parking lot of the Punjab and Haryana High Court on March 15, 1994, Ashok was allegedly abducted from Ludhiana the same day.

The case was registered against Saini and others by CBI on the orders of the Punjab and Haryana High Court on March 24, 1994. It was transferred to Delhi by the Supreme Court in 2004 after Vinod’s mother Amar Kaur expressed apprehension that Saini being a senior IPS officer might influence witnesses. The CBI has sought cancellation of exemption from personal appearance given to him in the case.