CHANDIGARH: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) counsel in former Dera manager Ranjit Singh’s murder case, Daljeet Singh Chawla has been transferred to Bhopal. Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim is a key accused in this case, one of the oldest murder cases in Haryana.
The transfer order issued on September 29, by the CBI administration division reads, “On the recommendation of the Junior Establishment Board and approval thereon of the competent authority, Daljeet Singh Chawla, Senior Public Prosecutor, SCB, Chandigarh, is transferred and posted at CBI, ACB, Bhopal, in the same capacity, with immediate effect, in public interest, till further orders.”
Chawla was assisting CBI special public prosecutor H P S Verma in the Ranjit Singh murder case. The Punjab and Haryana high court had recently restrained special CBI court, Panchkula, from pronouncing the final verdict in Ranjit Singh murder case. The matter is pending in the high court and scheduled for hearing on October 1.
The matter had reached the high court in the wake of a petition filed by Ranjit Singh’s son Jagseer, who had sought directions to transfer the case to some other CBI judge in Haryana, Punjab or Chandigarh. A resident of Khanpur Kolian village in Kurukshetra district, Jagseer, 27, had stated that he has a reasonable apprehension of the judge being unduly influenced by the accused through respondent No. 2 (K P Singh, public prosecutor of CBI), who is a CBI public prosecutor in other cases but not in this case. The petitioner alleged that this prosecutor takes undue interest and wields undue influence on special CBI judge, Panchkula.
The petitioner had also claimed that CBI public prosecutor K P Singh was previously posted with special judge Sushil Kumar Garg when he was posted in Chandigarh and after his transfer to Panchkula, he has been interfering in the administration of justice and is influencing the entire proceedings despite there being two other special public prosecutors appointed specifically for the trial. The plea included an allegation that K P Singh has been attending the court even on Saturday, which is not a court working day.
The transfer order issued on September 29, by the CBI administration division reads, “On the recommendation of the Junior Establishment Board and approval thereon of the competent authority, Daljeet Singh Chawla, Senior Public Prosecutor, SCB, Chandigarh, is transferred and posted at CBI, ACB, Bhopal, in the same capacity, with immediate effect, in public interest, till further orders.”
Chawla was assisting CBI special public prosecutor H P S Verma in the Ranjit Singh murder case. The Punjab and Haryana high court had recently restrained special CBI court, Panchkula, from pronouncing the final verdict in Ranjit Singh murder case. The matter is pending in the high court and scheduled for hearing on October 1.
The matter had reached the high court in the wake of a petition filed by Ranjit Singh’s son Jagseer, who had sought directions to transfer the case to some other CBI judge in Haryana, Punjab or Chandigarh. A resident of Khanpur Kolian village in Kurukshetra district, Jagseer, 27, had stated that he has a reasonable apprehension of the judge being unduly influenced by the accused through respondent No. 2 (K P Singh, public prosecutor of CBI), who is a CBI public prosecutor in other cases but not in this case. The petitioner alleged that this prosecutor takes undue interest and wields undue influence on special CBI judge, Panchkula.
The petitioner had also claimed that CBI public prosecutor K P Singh was previously posted with special judge Sushil Kumar Garg when he was posted in Chandigarh and after his transfer to Panchkula, he has been interfering in the administration of justice and is influencing the entire proceedings despite there being two other special public prosecutors appointed specifically for the trial. The plea included an allegation that K P Singh has been attending the court even on Saturday, which is not a court working day.
