Navjot Singh Sidhu gets relief from Punjab and Haryana HC, does not have to go to Ludhiana court

CHANDIGARH: The Punjab and Haryana high court quashed the order passed by a local court in Ludhiana summoning Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu, who is incarcerated in Patiala jail, to personally appear in a case involving his party colleague Bharat Bhushan Ashu. The Ludhiana court had issued a production warrant, asking the former PPCC president to appear as a witness in a criminal complaint case against Ashu, the former food and civil supplies minister.
With this, Sidhu does not need to appear in person before the Ludhiana court. He can now appear before the court via video conferencing. Justice Arun Monga passed these orders while setting aside the order passed by a Ludhiana court in September. The copy of the order was not available till the filing of the current report.
Senior advocate Manjit Singh Khaira, counsel for Sidhu, confirmed that the order passed by the Ludhiana magistrate has been quashed by the high court.
The trial court in Ludhiana on October 15 had refused Sidhu’s plea seeking to be heard as a witness in the case through video conferencing. The court said at the time that witnesses cannot demand hearing via video conferencing as a right.
Sidhu challenged the trial court orders in the high court for which the hearing was listed for October 21.
The details of the judge’s order were revealed on Wednesday. Navjot Singh Sidhu had also sought Zplus security cover for his appearance in the Ludhiana court as a witness.