Arrest 'Patently Illegal': Punjab & Haryana High Court Orders Release of Ex-Punjab DGP Sumedh Singh Saini From Vigilance Custody

A single bench of Justice Arun Kumar Tyagi ordered his release just over 24 hours after he was arrested by the Vigilance Bureau in alleged cheating, forgery, corruption case.

He has been booked under Sections 409, 420, 467, 468, 471 and 120- B of the IPC and Sections 13(1)(a) read with Section 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.

Hearing the case during the course of the night, the single Bench held that his arrest was in violation of earlier orders of the High Court (dated October 11, 2018, September 23, 2020 and anticipatory bail order dated August 12).

Importantly, the October 11, 2018 order of the Court had specifically made it mandatory for the agencies, that in case he was to be arrested or any action was contemplated against him then one week's advance notice shall be afforded to him before effecting his arrest so as to enable him to have recourse to remedies available to him

Further, in the September 23, 2020 order, the High Court had extended the protection to all the cases/incidences during Mr. Saini's entire service career.

It was averred before the Court that since Mr. Saini's retirement, he has been a target of State Government ruling in Punjab for implicating him in various criminal cases.

Recently, the Punjab And Haryana High Court had granted interim Anticipatory Bail to former Punjab Director-General of Police Sumedh Singh Saini in a corruption case.

The Bench of Justice Avneesh Jhingan noted that since he is having Z-plus protection and remains in a security cover, there is no chance of his absconding and thus, granted him interim pre-arrest bail subject to his joining investigation within one week.

Court's order

At the outset, the Court noted that the apprehensions of the petitioner were well-founded and were substantiated by the conduct of the Government.

Thereafter, ordering his release, the Court observed thus:

"In view of the above referred judicial precedents and above discussed facts and circumstances of the case evidencing illegality of the arrest of the detenue, the habeas corpus petition is allowed and the detenue is held to have been illegally arrested in circumvented violation of protection orders dated 11.10.2018 and 23.09.2020 and interim anticipatory bail order dated 12.08.2021 passed by the Co-ordinate Bench of this Court. Therefore, the detenue is ordered to be released forthwith."

However, the Court has given the liberty to the Investigating Officer to arrest him after giving seven days' notice in accordance with orders dated 11.10.2018 and 23.09.2020 and also seeking permission from the concerned Co-ordinate Bench of the Court hearing CRM-M-45242-2018 in which the detenue has been granted interim anticipatory bail on substantially the same allegations.