HC stays Punjab LoP Partap Singh Bajwa’s arrest in ‘50 bombs’ claim case
Apr 16, 2025 01:37 PM IST
The FIR was registered against Punjab LoP Bajwa in Mohali on Sunday night by the police claiming that he failed to establish the source of his claim to a TV channel that 50 grenades had entered Punjab, of which 18 had already exploded, while 32 remained active and unexploded.
The Punjab and Haryana high court on Wednesday stayed the arrest of Punjab leader of Opposition and Congress MLA Partap Singh Bajwa till April 22 on a plea moved seeking the quashing of the FIR registered against him by the Mohali police over his ‘50 bombs’ claim.
The FIR was registered on allegations of providing misleading information with the intention to disturb peace by claiming that 50 bombs have reached the border state.
The petition was taken up by the bench of justice Deepak Gupta, which while seeking response from the Punjab government by April 22 ordered interim protection from arrest to him, till the next date of hearing, said the former advocate general Punjab, APS Deol, who appeared for Bajwa. A detailed order is awaited.
The FIR was registered against Bajwa in Mohali on Sunday night by the police claiming that he failed to establish the source of his claim to a TV channel that 50 grenades had entered Punjab, of which 18 had already exploded, while 32 remained active and unexploded.
The FIR was registered on the complaint of a cyber police constable, who said that by making such a statement, Bajwa had intended to disturb public peace and tranquility, creating a sense of fear, ill will, and enmity among different communities.
“The petitioner had thus become an eyesore on account of his consistent stand against the wrong policies as well as deteriorating law-and-order situation in the state of Punjab amid a spate of bomb explosions and lobbying of hand grenades on vital establishments,” the plea said citing such recent incidents.
It added that the statement made by the petitioner was based on a report in the media which had been made in good faith without any intent to cause any alarm amongst the community. “The FIR has been registered in order to settle a political score with the petitioner. The political vengeance is writ large (in the given case),” the petition claimed, adding that police dealt with the matter in a “casual and callous manner”.
