A three-member tribunal headed by a former Supreme Court judge Kuldeep Singh would investigate the cases pertaining to alleged land grab in Punjab and Chandigarh by several influential people including politicians, bureaucrats and cops. The tribunal was set up by the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Tuesday. The other two members of the tribunal were yet to be named.
The tribunal is expected to furnish its report within four months. The court meanwhile said that the tribunal would have to revert to it if the members required more time to probe the land grab cases. The court also directed the Punjab government to provide a place and secretarial staff to the tribunal within two weeks to facilitate its functioning.
The tribunal was set up after the Punjab government looking into the allegations of the change of ownership of village common land into the names of several influential persons did not provide any “concrete results.”
The tribunal would have the powers as are vested by the civil courts. They would empower it to direct the revenue, forest and rural development department officials to assist it in investigating the allegations. The bench also asked the amicus curiae to include in the terms of reference prepared by him that the government authorities should provide essential staff to the tribunal within 30 days of the order.
The court had been looking into the land grab case by influential persons in the periphery of Chandigarh. But, during a resumed hearing of the case on Monday, the division bench comprising acting Chief Justice M.M Kumar and Justice Alok Singh had widened the scope of judicial panel. The bench had asked the amicus curiae Arun Jain to make amendments in the terms of reference prepared by him for the tribunal.
Meanwhile, the submission in five other petitions relating to the government land grab cases in various parts of the state were also assigned to the tribunal for probe along with the averments in the main case. These petitions were pending before other benches of the high court. The court expressed agreement to the submission of an advocate Puneet Bali, appearing in one similar case, that any final action on tribunal’s report should be taken only after the final judgment in the respective cases. The court also asked that the counsels could assist the bench looking into the land grab cases to ensure fair investigation.
News Source: India Today
