The District Court of Chandigarh on Tuesday issued bailable warrants against former Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab and SAD leader, Sukhbir Singh Badal, in a defamation case filed by Rajinder Pal Singh of Akhand Kirtani Jatha. The bailable warrants have been issued by the Court of Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM) Tejpartap Singh Randhawa. The detailed order copy is yet to be released by the court, while the matter is scheduled for hearing on November 27. The court had earlier summoned Badal in the matter and a notice was also issued to him. Advocate PIP Singh, the counsel of complainant, contended in the court that Sukhbir Singh Badal had given a statement to the enquiry officer and mentioned his address as house number 256, Sector 9, Chandigarh. The statement was signed by Sukhbir Singh Badal- therefore, he is well aware of the proceedings and is deliberately evading them. Complainant Rajinder Pal Singh, a resident of Mohali, had filed a case against Sukhbir Singh Badal under the Section 499 (Defamation) of the IPC in 2017. The complainant had submitted in the court that he had been serving the sikh community through a religious organisation, Akhand Kirtani Jatha, and he has been the chief spokesperson of the organisation for the past 10 years. He said that he and the said organisation have been criticising the Government of Punjab over its failure in stopping the painful desecration of the Guru Granth Sahib, besides identifying the real culprits behind act. Singh alleged that due to these reasons, Sukhbir Singh Badal had a grudge against him. He said, thus, on January 4, 2017, after the Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal visited his house in morning hours, accused Badal gave a statement to the media that the Akhand Kirtani Jatha are the political front of the biggest terrorist outfit, Babbar Khalsa International, and the matter was published widely. Singh in his petition had also mentioned the statement given by Badal to the media, which read as, “.Kejriwal comes to Punjab and starts liaisiing with radicals. The day before yesterday he was having breakfast with Akhand Kirtani Jatha which is the political front of Babbar Khalsa International, the biggest terrorist organisation.” Singh stated that the statement given by Badal was baseless, slanderous, defamatory, with the purpose of intentionally defaming him, and due to this, a well wisher and his friend had taunted him by calling him a terrorist in the presence of their other friends.
