Chandigarh: The Punjab and Haryana high court on Monday granted regular bail to former Punjab finance minister and BJP leader Manpreet Singh Badal in a vigilance case linked to alleged irregularities in land purchases.
The court also extended regular bail to Bikramjit Singh, a then PCS officer posted with the Bathinda Development Authority (BDA), and Pankaj Kalia, who was serving as superintendent in the authority at the time.
The Vigilance Range Bathinda had registered an FIR against Badal and others on September 23, 2023, alleging irregularities related to the purchase of two residential plots measuring a total of 1,560 square yards from the BDA during the previous Congress government’s tenure. The high court had granted interim bail to the accused on October 16, 2023.
The matter came up for hearing before Justice Aman Chaudhary. Punjab government counsel Deepinder Singh appeared on behalf of the state, while DSP Kulwant Singh Lehri, the investigating officer in the case, was also present in court.
Badal has consistently termed the case as one of political vendetta. The high court noted that the matter had remained pending for a considerable period and that the Vigilance Bureau had not yet filed a chargesheet in the case.
With the grant of regular bail, the way has now been cleared for the Vigilance Bureau to proceed with filing the challan before the trial court, officials said.
