New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday condemned the conduct of Punjab Police officers accused of assaulting Colonel Pushpinder Singh Bath over a parking dispute, and upheld the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s decision to transfer the investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
A bench of Justices Sanjay Kumar and Satish Chandra Sharma dismissed the plea filed by the accused police officers seeking a stay on the High Court’s July 16 order. The court said the decision to hand over the probe to the CBI was “reasonable.”
The incident allegedly took place on the night of March 13 and 14 this year, when Colonel Bath and his son were having dinner at a roadside dhaba in Patiala.
Criticising the inaction of senior police officials, the bench said, “When there is a war going on, you glorify these Army officers. Your SSP says, ‘I cannot arrest him even after his anticipatory bail is cancelled as he is a police officer.’ There is no legal argument, nothing. Your bail was rejected, they are roaming freely and they have not been arrested. Such anarchy is not acceptable.”
The court also reminded the police officers of the sacrifices made by the Army, stating, “You are sleeping peacefully in your homes because they (the Army) are protecting you at the borders. Show some respect.”
