Supreme Court refuses bail plea of suspended Punjab Police DIG in corruption case

The Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain the bail plea of suspended Punjab Police DIG Harcharan Singh Bhullar, who was arrested by the CBI in October last year in connection with a corruption case.

A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi granted liberty to Bhullar to approach the Punjab and Haryana High Court seeking bail if the trial in the case does not commence within two months.

The bench was hearing Bhullar’s plea challenging a High Court order passed in February this year that denied him bail in the case.

Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Bhullar, sought bail, saying the petitioner was not a flight risk and chargesheet and supplementary chargesheet in the case have already been filed.

The bench said it was not inclined to entertain the petition at this stage.

A complaint was filed in October last year alleging that Bhullar, who was posted as DIG of Ropar range, had demanded illegal gratification through a private intermediary to secure favourable treatment in an FIR registered at Sirhind police station and to ensure that no coercive steps were taken against the business of the complainant.

An FIR was registered and a trap was laid on October 16 last year in Chandigarh, wherein a co-accused was apprehended while allegedly accepting Rs five lakh as part of the demanded bribe. Bhullar was arrested in the case and later in January, a special CBI court in Chandigarh dismissed his plea seeking bail.

Before the High Court, Bhullar’s counsel contended that the petitioner was a decorated officer with an unblemished service record spanning over three decades and the case against him was a result of motivated allegations.

His counsel had argued that no recovery was effected from the petitioner and the entire case rests upon the alleged recovery from a private individual who was not a public servant.

The CBI’s counsel opposed his bail plea in the High Court, contending that the demand of alleged illegal gratification was prima facie borne out from the recorded conversations, WhatsApp data and controlled call conducted during verification.

While dismissing his bail plea, the High Court had granted him liberty to apply for bail afresh before the special court after the examination of material witnesses in the case.