SC refuses to stay expulsion of Amarinder Singh

The Supreme Court today refused to stay the expulsion of former Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh from the state assembly and the police investigations into the Amritsar land scam. The court, however, restrained the Election Commission from declaring his seat as vacant. The former chief minister was earlier expelled on September 3, from the House after a resolution was passed on the basis of the report of a special committee appointed by the Punjab assembly in the scam.

The apex court also stayed the direction of the special committee to the Director of Vigilance for submitting a report of the inquiry within two months to the panel. A three-judge bench of Justices B N Aggrawal, G S Singhvi and Aftab Alam said that the police shall proceed with the investigations in the case without being influenced by the observations and directions passed by the special committee,which had ordered an FIR into the case.

Counsel for Amarinder Singh pleaded that the police investigations and interrogations should be stayed as the Prakash Singh Badal Government was allegedly planning to arrest the former Chief Minister out of political vendetta. The apex court further transferred to itself the batch of writ petitions on the issue pending before the Punjab and Haryana High Court to itself and posted the matter for further hearing to December 2.

The bench granted four weeks to the parties to file their counter-affidavits and told them to file their rejoinders within two weeks. The Special committee in its report had held Amarinder Singh and two other Congress leaders Jagjit Singh Chaudhary and Jugal Kishore Sharma guilty in the land scam. The committee in its report had held Amrinder and two others guilty in the scam and had recommended registration of the FIR against them. It also allowed their custodial interrogation.

Singh was expelled for the remaining term of the 13th Assembly Sabha and the Election Commission was asked to declare his seat vacant for holding a by-poll to the Patiala constituency represented by the 66-year-old Congress leader. The alleged irregularities related to grant of certain exemptions, given by Capt Amrinder Singh as the Chief Minister, in connection with the development of 32.10 acres of land.

Chaudhary was a minister (local government) during the previous Congress regime headed by Singh. He was not the member of the House when a resolution was passed to expel Singh.