Kanchanpreet Kaur, the Daughter of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Sukhwinder Kaur Randhawa, got bail this morning in a case following a Tarn Taran courtโs order that lasted past midnight. Her counsel, Arshdeep Singh Kler, said she was released early Sunday morning after the court struck down the non-bailable offence registered against Kaur in the FIR. ย
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The hearing began at 11 pm on Saturday and lasted until around 1 am, while the verdict came around 4 pm.
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Kanchanpreetโs mother โ Randhawa โ recently lost the Tarn Taran bypoll to the AAP candidate. The SAD leadership has called the case a “political vendetta” of the Aam Aadmi Party government.
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Speaking to the media in Tarn Taran, Kler said that during the hearing, arguments took place over the arrest of Kanchanpreet. He said the court acknowledged that Kanchanpreet’s arrest was unconstitutional, besides raising a question over the police action.
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During the hearing, police had sought a 10-day police remand of Kanchanpreet.
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The arrest โ
The police on Friday arrested Kanchanpreet after she was named in a case linked to alleged intimidation during the bypoll. The case was registered at the Chabhal police station in Tarn Taran on November 11. Kler said the police added a non-bailable Section 111 (organised crime) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) in the FIR to arrest her.
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On bail in four cases โ
Kanchanpreet was already facing four poll-related cases in which she had already obtained anticipatory bail. On Saturday, Kler, who is the SAD legal cell head, moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court against Kanchanpreet’s arrest, calling it illegal and unlawful.
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State counsel Chanchal K Singla, however, opposed the submissions made by the petitioner’s counsel and submitted that Kanchanpreet’s complicity surfaced as her husband, Amritpal Singh Bath, was involved in 23 FIRs.
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In its order, the High Court directed the magistrate to take into consideration the contention raised by the petitioner’s counsel before taking any decision on the remand of Kanchanpreet sought by the state. Following the request by the petitioner’s counsel that he would himself personally appear before the court in Tarn Taran to argue the case and would reach there by 8 pm, the HC bench of Justice Rajesh Bhardwaj had directed the magistrate to keep Kanchanpreet in court custody and allow her counsel to make his submissions.
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The case โ
The case was initially registered against Amritpal Singh Bath for allegedly threatening complainant Gurpreet Kaur of Padhri Kalan to influence her vote. However, Kanchanpreet was named in the FIR on November 27. She was charged under sections 174 (non-attendance in obedience to an order from a public servant), 351(2) (criminal intimidation), 351(3) (criminal intimidation by anonymous communication), and 111 (organised crime) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).