HC Directs Punjab Govt Not to Harass Partap Bajwa Amid Grenade Remark Probe
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has instructed the state government and its agencies to ensure that Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa is not subjected to undue harassment under the pretext of investigation. The directive comes in connection with an FIR filed against Bajwa following his remarks about untraced grenades allegedly smuggled into Punjab.
Justice Tribhuvan Dahiya, heading the Bench, emphasized that the investigation must follow proper legal procedure. The court scheduled the next hearing for May 22 and directed the state to submit a detailed reply by then.
Bajwa, represented by senior advocate APS Deol and a team of lawyers including Himmat Singh Deol, Arshdeep Singh Cheema, and Vishal Lamba, argued that he was being harassed under the guise of investigation. His legal team highlighted a notice issued under Section 94 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), demanding details of all mobile phones and SIM cards he had used in the past two years. The notice, dated May 10, gave him less than 24 hours to comply — a deadline his counsel deemed unreasonable and the information sought irrelevant to the case.
The state, while opposing Bajwa’s plea, defended its request, claiming the information was essential for the investigation. It assured the court that a formal reply would be filed by the next hearing.
The FIR was based on a complaint by a police constable who alleged that Bajwa, during an April 10 Facebook interview, claimed that 50 grenades had arrived in Punjab from Pakistan — with 18 already used and 32 remaining. The complainant argued that this statement was misleading and had the potential to incite public unrest.
In his petition seeking to quash the FIR, Bajwa maintained that his remarks were drawn from a news report and intended to highlight the declining law and order situation in Punjab. He criticized the government for its alleged inaction, especially in the wake of recent bomb blasts, saying it appeared to be “sleeping over the intelligence inputs.”
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