Chandigarh: Mr. Sukhdev Singh, a journalist of Chandigarh was granted anticipatory bail by the Punjab Haryana High Court. Passing the order Mr. Justice Surinder Singh issued a notice to union territory administration for January 2ist. Mr. Harbajan Singh Bajwa, Council for the petitioner submitted that his client, an eminent journalist was facing pressure from the authorities on the account of his writings. Mr. Bajwa pointed out that a Chandigarh police party raided and searched the journalist’s house without proper authority. The administration had been harassing him in many other ways. The allotment of his client’s house had been cancelled by the administration without giving him any opportunity of being heard. He also submitted that the Chief Secretary and the Information and publicity secretary of the Punjab Government, too, had been trying to harass the petitioner. The Chief Secretary had virtually directed the Information Secretary not to issue advertisements to Dignity. This was being done to penalize the petitioner for his critical writings against the Central and state Governments. Even the petitioner was not being given accreditation even though he full filled all the requirements prescribed by law. The petitioner apprehended action individually by the Chandigarh administration and the Punjab Government on account of his political writings on such matters as the river waters issue, suppression of civil liberties, political mechanization on Chandigarh and Abohar-Fazilka areas. The court will hear the union territory administration on January 21st.
Article extracted from this publication >> January 24, 1986
