Punjab vigilance to file Recall Petition against court order releasing Sumedh Saini in land fraud case

The Punjab Vigilance Bureau has decided to file a Recall Petition in the High Court against the August 19 release orders of former Director General of Police (DGP) Sumedh Saini in a land fraud case and also against the court’s interim bail order of August 12 in the disproportionate assets case against the former DGP.
The Bureau will soon be moving the recall petitions in the two cases filed against Saini, a 1982 batch IPS officer.
The former DGP was arrested on August 18 in the land fraud case (FIR no. 11, Mohali) when he went to the Vigilance Bureau (VB) office late in the evening (around 2000 hrs) in connection with another case (FIR no. 13 – disproportionate assets case).
Saini had gone to the VB office in accordance with the High Court orders awarding him interim bail subject to him joining the investigation in FIR 13 within 7 days of the grant of interim bail.

Ordering Saini’s interim bail, the court had, on August 12, 2021, stated: “For joining loose ends, if any with regard to the documentary evidence or banking transactions, this Court is of the opinion that custodial interrogation of the petitioner is not required. The petitioner is granted interim bail subject to his joining investigation within one week from today.”
Pointing out that the ex-DGP had chosen to visit the VB office late in the evening on the last day of the 7-day period, an official spokesperson of the Bureau said Saini had thus failed to follow the HC orders in letter and spirit.
“Saini intentionally exhausted the 7-day period during which he had to join the investigation in accordance with the interim order in FIR no. 13, and even then he arrived at the Sector 68 Mohali office of the Bureau without any prior intimation to the IO. In fact, he intentionally did not go to the office of I.O. V.B., Unit SAS Nagar, Quarter No. 69, Police Housing Complex, Sector-62, SAS Nagar,” the spokesperson said.
In the circumstances, the Bureau had thus decided to file a petition before the court seeking the recall of the interim bail orders in the disproportionate assets case. The case relates to 35 properties and certain bank accounts of Nimratdeep XEN, with balance and transactions worth Rs 100 crore, including some in crores of rupees with Saini, leading to his undue enrichment, and exhibiting that he held assets far exceeding his income.