NEW DELHI (PTI): The Punjabi lawyer couple, who appeared in Supreme Court on Sept.23, told a three judge bench on Friday that two senior police officers had threatened to “kill” them but they bore no ill against her father under whose instructions the police “misbehaved” with them.

Advocate Jaspreet Kaur, who married Vipan Gogia against father, G.S.Bains’ wishes said that the deputy superintendent of police and the superintendent of police of Hoshiar pur district had followed them to Missouri and threatened to “kill” them. G.S.Bains was the deputy com missioner of Hoshiarpur, a small town in Punjab. He was since been transferred.

Kaur told a three judge bench headed by Chief Justice Venkatachellaiah that she bore no ill will against her father under whose orders the police had ‘misbehaved’ with them.

She said her father had acted on sentiments but this was not the way for the police, committed to protect the public, to behave,

Jasprect’s statement before the court came minutes after Bains told the judges that he bore no ill will against the couple. “I give them my blessings,” he told a packed court.

The tension in the court was eased with one of the judges, justice A.S.Anand observing “let the advocates not stand in between the two families now.”

Bains’ gesture of rapprochement towards the couple prompted to chief justice to place on record the court’s appreciation of his magnanimity.

The chief justice told the couple that by their emotional decision to “runaway and get married against the parents’ wishes,” the girl had done great damage to her father’s image,

A sobbing Kaur told the judges that she was sorry for what had happened.

Justice Venkatachallaiah; We are also parents and we feel as your father feels about you. No amount of police muscle should come in the way of your coming together with the family. We will deal separately with the erring police officers.

The chief justice said if Bains had appeared in court when he had been summoned perhaps this incident would not have occurred.

At this stage the Punjab advocate general told the court that Bains tendered his unqualified apology for his absence in court. G.Ramaswamy appearing for the superintendent of police told the court that the officer was innocent of the charges of abduction and harassment of the couple. He pleaded that since the couple had returned the court withdraw its earlier order for his transfer from the district.

The court however deferred 3 decision till Monday saying it preferred to go into the matter before taking any further steps.

Article extracted from this publication >>  October 1, 1993