[Tajinder Bagga] Punjab & Haryana High Court stays arrest till July 6; allows Punjab Police to interrogate him at residence

The Punjab & Haryana High Court on Tuesday granted interim protection against arrest to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga till July 6 in the case registered against him by the Punjab Police [Tejinder Pal Singh Bagga v State of Punjab]..Justice Anoop Chitkara allowed the Punjab Police to interrogate the BJP leader at his residence twice for one hour each until the next date of hearing between 10 am and 5 pmFurther, the single judge said that the interrogation has to be in the presence of his counsel by a team led by an IPS officer. "It is clarified that in case the police want to interrogate the petitioner, it shall do so only at the place of his residence at Delhi and that too, only twice before the next date of hearing. The petitioner shall be interrogated only for one hour each time between 10-00 a.m. to 5-00 p.m in the presence of his counsel. The investigation team shall not consist of more than three persons and it shall be led by an officer not below the rank of an IPS officer", the order said. The police was also directed not to file a challan in the case till July 6 when the matter will be heard next. .The matter will be heard finally on the next date of hearing, July 6. "It is requested that none of the parties should seek an adjournment on the next date of hearing.".Previously, Justice Chitkara had heard the case late at night on May 7 and stayed Bagga's arrest till today.Bagga had moved the High Court seeking urgent relief after Judicial Magistrate of SAS Nagar, Ravtesh Inderjit Singh issued an arrest warrant against him..Bagga was booked by the Punjab Police for offences under Sections 153A (promoting enmity between religious groups), 505 (statements conducing to public mischief) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code.Bagga has been vocal on social media including Twitter against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal over his views on the movie 'The Kashmir Files'.A complaint was filed against Bagga in Mohali after his statements.He was initially taken into custody from Delhi by Punjab Police on May 6 and was being taken to Punjab when the Haryana and Delhi Police intervened and brought him back to Delhi.Subsequently, Punjab Police had obtained arrest warrant against Bagga.Bagga then approached the High Court through advocates Anil Mehta and Mayank Aggarwal.In his plea, Bagga contended that the case is vexatious and borne out of political vendetta.He also contended that his custody is not required for probe since the evidence which forms the basis of the proceedings, is electronic in nature.It was also highlighted that he is not a flight risk since he has deep roots in the society..Senior Advocates Randeep Singh Rai and Chetan Mittal along with Advocates Gautam Dutt, Anil Mehta, Mr. Mayank Aggarwal and NK Verma appeared for Bagga. Advocate General Anmol Rattan Sidhu and Senior Advocate Puneet Bali appeared for the State of Punjab. Senior Advocate Vinod Ghai represented the complainant. Read more about Bagga's earlier arrest here..[Read Order]