CHANDIGARH: The Punjab and Haryana High Court last week ordered the transfer of the Katia molestation case for trial from, the Ropar district courts to the Chandigarh district courts.

This order was handed down by Justice M.S. Liberahan and Justice K.K. Srivastava on a public interest litigation preferred by Simranjit Singh Mann, an Akali Dal leader.

The judges rejected Mann’s prayer for entrusting the investigation of the case of the CBI. In fact, the Punjab Government revealed to the court that investigation in the case had already been completed and the government was about to put up a challan in court for starting the trial of the case Justice Liberahan told a jam-packed court that the high court would send all papers, including the identification parade report, to the magistrate Whatever objection counsel had, could be raised before the competen trial court.

All these direction were issued by the Bench when counsel for different parties gave their consent, and disposed of Mann’s petition.

Tulsi also repeated whatever he had said earlier. He took the plea that Mann’s petition was not in public interest but in personal or political inform.

The second argument that Tulsi adduced before the Bench was that criminal investigation was the subject of the state government and not of the Center, He claimed that investigation into this case was fair. In fact the government effort would be to prove that no one was above the law. In fact, it was for this reason that the suspects were arrested, their police remand was sought and they were not shown any Leniency.

During arguments, the judges remarked that even if the police goes by the statement Kalia had made before the judicial magistrate, the only offence that could be made against the suspect was kidnapping. She had not charged the suspects with rape. Moreover she was not under pressure when she was making this statement before the magistrate

The disposal of Mann’s petition last week put at rest the five-month old controversy

The alleged molestation of Katia had taken place on September I at Mohali. After making her statement before the magistrate at Mohali and her identification parade at Bursiljarl, she is reported to have Left India.

Article extracted from this publication >> February 10, 1995