CHANDIGARH: Responding to a petition challenging the appointment of Punjab DGP, Sumedh Singh Saini, on grounds of criminal cases pending against him, the CBI on Friday submitted before the Punjab and Haryana high court that it had already informed the Punjab government about the criminal charges faced by Saini.
In its detailed reply, CBI submitted, “The status of the case against Saini was informed to the Punjab government from time to time by the CBI and it is up to them to decide suitability or otherwise of an officer, who is facing trial”.
The agency also informed the bench that it has nothing to do in the impugned appointment of Saini as state DGP.
Hearing the CBI reply, a division bench headed by acting Chief Justice M M Kumar has asked the Punjab government to file a counter reply on the response filed by the agency.
The reply was filed by the premier agency on Friday in response to a PIL by an NGO — Voice for Freedom — praying for removal of Saini from DGP’s post as he is facing criminal charges in a CBI court in Delhi. The NGO had pleaded that the appointment was in clear violation of apex court directions as well as against the spirit of Punjab Police Act.
In its reply filed on Friday, CBI has also informed the status of the trial pending against Saini and other police personnel on charges of abduction with the intention to murder.
Challenging Saini’s appointment, the petitioner organization through its director, Simranjit Singh, an advocate of high court and a resident of Mohali, had also referred to the recent decision of Karnataka high court, setting aside the appointment of state DGP, holding that the selection process was vitiated since a report on atrocities against women and tribal people by the special task force that he headed was deliberately suppressed from the selection authorities.
Source: Times of India
