HC rap for Vigilance chief

"Whether in the Government or not, Saini can arrest anyone. If he can arrest Virk who was so close to him, what else can you expect of him; we all know about the behaviour of this officer."

8220;Whether in the Government or not, Saini can arrest anyone. If he can arrest Virk who was so close to him, what else can you expect of him; we all know about the behaviour of this officer.8221; The Punjab and Haryana High Court Judge R S Randhawa on Friday came down heavily on Vigilance Director Sumedh Singh Saini during the arguments on the blanket bail application filed by former chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh here.

Expressing strong displeasure at the way the officer and his team had been arresting people, the High Court on Friday issued notices to Punjab for Tuesday and said if arrested in this interregnum, Capt Amarinder be released on bail at once to the satisfaction of the arresting officer. The Judge also ridiculed Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal8217;s statement that he was not aware of Virk8217;s arrest. 8220;It is very disturbing that the Chief Minister didn8217;t know a former DGP was being arrested by the Vigilance,8221; the Court remarked.

8220;I am not scared of sharing my opinion without saying whether what is happening is good or bad. If a person has done something wrong, by all means arrest him after registering a case, but follow the proper procedure,8221; he held.

Earlier, M L Saggar, defence counsel for Capt Amarinder, argued that the former CM feared he would be falsely implicated by the Badal Government. 8220;These people are totally unpredictable. They register a case at 10 pm and arrest the person at 4 am without even showing the copy of the FIR. I was handed over the FIR in the morning at 9.30 am inside the hospital. The present Government is flouting all norms to settle personal scores,8221; argued Saggar.

Deciding to issue notices to the State, the Court observed, 8220;Since notices are being issued and there are two holidays in between before the opening of the Court, this doesn8217;t mean that Saini should go and arrest Capt Amarinder on Saturday or Sunday8221;. The Punjab law officer then sought ten minutes time from the Court to seek instructions, which was allowed. Later, he returned to state that no FIR has been registered against Capt Amarinder so far.

After recording the statements of both the sides, the Court allowed protection to the former CM till Tuesday and said in case of his arrest, he be released on bail to the satisfaction of the arresting officer.