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The Supreme Court said that as an ordinary citizen, Gurjinder Pal Singh is entitled to his rights under the Constitution. (File photo)The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed the Chhattisgarh government’s plea challenging the bail granted to suspended additional director general of police Gurjinder Pal Singh. The 1994-batch officer was arrested under the Prevention of Corruption Act in January this year over allegations of owning assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.
GP Singh was earlier the additional director general (ADG) of the ACB and also served as the inspector general (IG) of Raipur. He was posted as head of the police training academy before being suspended on July 5.
Rejecting the state’s submission that Singh is a high-ranking officer and had been indulging in tampering with evidence in the case, the Supreme Court said that as an ordinary citizen he is entitled to his rights under the Constitution. The Supreme Court also observed that the application filed by the state of Chhattisgarh was a totally unwarranted exercise.
Singh had been absconding for six months before he was arrested. He was later booked for sedition after a diary – containing comments on senior government functionaries – was seized from his house.
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On May 12, the Chhattisgarh High Court granted him bail. According to his lawyer Ashutosh Pandey, the bail was granted on multiple issues. “Primarily, the state needs permission from the Union home ministry to initiate a case against Singh which they still do not have. Moreover, the police had kept Singh in judicial custody so, clearly, their interrogation with my client is over. Then why keep him in custody,” Pandey had asked.
Before his arrest, the Supreme Court had rejected his plea for anticipatory bail. The apex court, in its order, also said that in a case of disproportionate assets, most evidence is documentary and there was no question of tampering with it.
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