Former Punjab minister Sunder Sham Arora’s bail plea dismissed

The court of Additional District and Sessions Judge (ADSJ) Parminder Singh Grewal observed, “In view of the reasons discussed herein before and after keeping in view the gravity and seriousness of the alleged offences, the present bail petition filed under Section 439 of CrPC for the release of the petitioner on regular bail in this case is hereby dismissed as such.”

The counsel for the petitioner submitted that the story put forth by the complainant was not acceptable to an ordinary prudent man and the same appears to be false and imaginary on the face of it. He further submitted that the inquiry, the reference of which has been made in the FIR, was pending before the Vigilance Bureau, Mohali, and the petitioner was summoned by the DSP, Vigilance Bureau, on September 13 with the direction to appear on September 21.

The petitioner appeared before the inquiry officer and fully cooperated during the inquiry, the counsel said.

He submitted that relevant documents were produced before the inquiry officer and the petitioner was asked to appear again in October. The petitioner appeared before the Vigilance Bureau officials as told, he submitted.

He further submitted that the inquiry related to a disproportionate assets case and the petitioner fully accounted for those allegations and every detail with regard to property, etc was duly reflected in the affidavits filed before the Election Commission while contesting the Assembly elections.

The counsel further submitted that one Bir Davinder Singh filed a complaint in 2021 before the Punjab Lokpal against the petitioner and others alleging using illegal means for his own benefit by giving some industrial plots at Mohali to beneficiaries.

The Lokpal dismissed the complaint on December 13, 2021, after observing no evidence supporting the allegations was found, the counsel submitted.

The counsel informed the court that these facts clearly showed the petitioner was being harassed and humiliated from time to time by political opponents. He has submitted that it appears from the perusal of the FIR that the present case was registered only due to political grudge against the petitioner and to tarnish his image. Nothing was required to be recovered from the petitioner and the investigation in the present case had almost completed, the counsel submitted.

The counsel further submitted that there was no apprehension that the petitioner would threaten any of the witnesses as almost all of them are official witnesses holding high posts. There was no apprehension that the petitioner would run away from the process of law as he had a long-standing reputation in the society and his entire family resided in the local area, the counsel submitted.

While dismissing the bail, the court also observed that arguments raised to the effect that there was no apprehension that the petitioner would run away from the process of law as he had a long-standing reputation in society as a politician and social worker. As the petitioner is a former minister and two-time MLA having all the resources at his command and if he is released on bail at this preliminary stage of the investigation, it appears to the court that he shall flee from the process of law, it observed.