Interim bail for ADGP Bhullar

CHANDIGARH, July 24: THE Punjab and Haryana High Court today granted interim bail on medical ground to Daljit Singh Bhullar, Additional D...

CHANDIGARH, July 24: THE Punjab and Haryana High Court today granted interim bail on medical ground to Daljit Singh Bhullar, Additional DGP, Punjab, in the triple murder case of Khanna, for a period of three months commencing July 21.

Bhullar had surrendered in the said case in May 1997, after the High Court had rejected his plea for anticipatory bail on allegations of conspiracy to commit the murder of P.S. Sihota, a business partner of his son Uday Partap. Later, the charred bodies of Sihota and two others were found in a burnt taxi at Khanna in September, 1996.

The petitioner had been granted interim bail on medical grounds by the Additional Session Judge, Patiala due to heart ailment on December 11,1997 which was extended for the last time up to June 30, 1998. It was in these circumstances that he had approached the High Court for extension of his bail, which now stands extended up to October, 21.

The Court while extending bail observed that although the offence was serious in nature, so was the ailment of the petitioner which could not be ignored or overlooked. The plea of the CBI to the effect of the petitioner intentionally not getting treated quickly and delaying the matter was negated by the petitioner with the fact of his shifting to Escorts Heart Institute from All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi for treatment because he was being given long dates at AIIMS due to heavy rush.

Notice of motion: On a writ petition filed by Sanjeev Mohan Sharma and another of Jalandhar, seeking a direction to Department of Telecom DoT, Chandigarh and New Delhi for directing Essar Cellphone Evergrowth Telecom Ltd., the licensees for operating cellular services for Punjab Telecom Circle, to restore the outgoing call facility for Chandigarh circle, a Divisional bench of the Punjab amp; Haryana High Court comprising Justice V.K. Bali and Justice B.Rai issued notice of motion for August 12.