In 2nd report, Gill panel finds 47 cases filed during SAD regime to be ‘false’

In rest of the six cases, the commission has either recommended that further investigation be done or challan be presented in the court. All the four cases where commission recommended action against policemen and complainants were registered against one accused Mehar Singh who was acquitted in all the four cases. (Representational Image)

The attempt to murder case against Congress MLA from Rampura Phul, Gurpreet Kangar, is among the 47 cases identified as “false cases” filed due to “vendetta” in the second interim report of Justice (retd) Mehtab Singh Gill Commission. The panel was formed to probe “false cases” registered during the ten-year tenure of the previous SAD-BJP government in Punjab.

The report was submitted to Chief Minister on Tuesday. The commission has also recommended departmental action against one DSP and four other policemen. “Challan has been presented in the court. Case found to be false on account of political vendetta. Inquiry officer directed to approach the District Attorney (Nodal Officer) for cancellation of the FIR after taking appropriate orders from the court,” the Commission observed while referring to the case against Kangar in which he was booked for attempt to murder and other offences at Dialpura police station in Bathinda district on January 11, 2012. Out of the 47 cases, in which final report under section 173 CrPC has not been filed or the accused have been acquitted, identified as “false”, the commission recommended cancellation of FIRs in as many as 37 cases. In four cases where the the courts acquitted the accused, the commission recommended that the accused be compensated by the investigating officers and action be taken against the first informants in the case.

In rest of the six cases, the commission has either recommended that further investigation be done or challan be presented in the court. All the four cases where commission recommended action against policemen and complainants were registered against one accused Mehar Singh who was acquitted in all the four cases. In his submissions to the commission, Mehar Singh had made a former Akali minister as party in two of the cases. However, the commission did not refer to the leader in its order.

“It appeared that the (Akali) leader was made the party only to sensationalise the case. The commission did not summon him nor there is any mention of the leader in the order,” said Justice (retd) Mehtab Singh Gill. In one of the four cases where an NDPS Act case registered at Sadar police station in Ferozepur district in May 2008, the commission recommended that adequate compensation to the accused applicant be recovered from Inspector Sarabjit Singh, the investigating officer, and action be taken against DSP Jasvir Singh and Sub-Inspector Atma Singh and prosecution witness in the case. The panel also dismissed 59 complaints as being frivolous and not meriting consideration as they related to personal civil disputes, ranging from matrimonial to property, and did not fall into its jurisdiction. In all, the commission examined 106 cases in the second interim report.

Earlier on August 23, the panel had submitted its first interim report where it had examined 178 cases and found about 70 per cent of the cases to be “false”. At the end of the cut off date fixed to receive applications, the commission had received as many as 4194 complaints with applicants alleging “false cases”. After coming to power in Punjab, Amarinder Singh government had appointed the commission on April 5, 2017 and it was entrusted the task to investigate the alleged false cases/FIRs registered during the erstwhile Badal regime. Former District and Sessions Judge B S Mehandiratta is a member of the commission.