'Abuse of process of law': Badals gets clean chit from SC in SAD's 'dual constitution' case

New Delhi, April 28 The Supreme Court on Friday quashed cheating and forgery proceedings in connection with the controversy over the dual constitution of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) against the party's late patriarch Parkash Singh Badal and his son Sukhbir Singh Badal.

Parkash Singh Badal, also a five-time former Chief Minister of Punjab, died at a private hospital in Mohali on Tuesday. He was 95.

A bench comprising Justices M R Shah and C T Ravikumar said: "The impugned judgment and order passed by the High Court dismissing the revision application is hereby quashed and set aside. The order passed by the Trial Court dated 04.11.2019 summoning the appellants - accused to face the trial for the offences under Sections 420, 465, 466, 467, 468, 471 read with 120B IPC is hereby quashed and set aside. Present appeals are accordingly allowed."

"Under the circumstances to continue the criminal proceedings against the appellants - accused arising out of the complaint and to face the trial by the accused as per the summoning order is nothing but an abuse of process of law and court and this is a fit case to quash the entire criminal proceedings arising out of the complaint filed by the respondent No. 1 including the summoning order passed by the learned Trial Court."

The pleas before the top court were filed by the Badals and Dr Daljit Singh Cheema.

The petitioners had submitted that being religious does not run contrary to the principles of secularism and merely because a political outfit is contesting elections to a Gurdwara committee does not mean that it is not secular.

The apex court quashed the criminal proceedings pending before Punjab's Hoshiarpur court in the alleged case of forgery and cheating filed against them in the controversy over dual constitution of Shiromani Akali Dal.

However, the bench said: "wW may observe that we have set aside the summoning order on the aforesaid grounds only and we have not expressed anything on the Constitution of the party - Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) and the present order shall not affect the pending proceedings before the High Court of Delhi, which is reported to be pending against the order passed by the EC."

The petitioners had moved the apex court in connection with a complaint filed by Hoshiarpur resident Balwant Singh Khera. In 2009, Khera had filed a criminal complaint before the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate.

The apex court said: "Looking to the averments and allegations in the complaint and even the material/evidence collected/ recorded during the course of the inquiry and even assuming the complaint's averments to be true, the ingredients of the offence punishable under Sections 420, 465, 466, 467, 468, 471 are not at all made out."

The bench said, in the present case, no false document has been produced. "What was produced was the Memorandum and no other documents were produced. Even according to the original complainant, the Memorandum and the claim made at the time of registration of the party that it has adopted a Memorandum accepting secularism, the same was contrary to the Constitution of the Party produced before the Gurudwara Election Commission," said the bench, adding that making a false claim and creating and producing the false document both are different and distinct.

The complaint accused the SAD of submitting two different constitutions, i.e., one to the Gurdwara Election Commission (GEC) and the second with the Election Commission to seek recognition as a political party.

Senior advocates K.V. Viswanathan and R.S. Cheema appeared for the Badals, and advocate Sandeep Kapur for Cheema.

The petitions were filed by Karanjawala & Co. and the brief was led by Nandini Gore and Kapur and others. Advocate Prashant Bhushan appeared for Khera.

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