A Tarn Taran court released Akali leader’s daughter Kanchanpreet Kaur after a rare late-night hearing that continued past 1 am. The court ruled her arrest unconstitutional and removed the non-bailable charge added by police
Chandigarh — Kanchanpreet Kaur, daughter of Akali leader Sukhwinder Kaur Randhawa, was released early Sunday morning after a Tarn Taran court ordered her release following a late-night hearing that continued past midnight.
Her lawyer, Arshdeep Singh Kler, confirmed that she walked out early morning after the court removed the non-bailable section that had been added to the FIR against her.
She had been brought to court on Saturday night, with the hearing starting at 10 pm and going on until around 1 am, and the final order being pronounced at about 4 am.
Kanchanpreet, whose mother recently lost the Tarn Taran bypoll to the AAP candidate, faced a long legal battle through the night. Speaking to the media in Tarn Taran, her lawyer Kler said the court discussed the manner of her arrest and accepted her legal team’s argument that the arrest was unconstitutional, also raising questions about the police action.
During the proceedings, the police asked for 10 days’ police remand. She had been arrested on Friday after being named in a case related to alleged intimidation during the bypoll.
The case had been registered on November 11 at the Chabhal police station in Tarn Taran. Kler said the police added a non-bailable section, Section “111” of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, only to ensure her arrest.
The Shiromani Akali Dal leadership has described the entire case as “political vendetta” by the AAP government.
Before this case, Kanchanpreet was already facing four other election-related cases, in which she had already obtained anticipatory bail. On Saturday, her lawyer Kler, who is also the head of the SAD legal cell, approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court calling her arrest illegal and unlawful.
The state’s lawyer, Chanchal K Singla, opposed these arguments and submitted before the court that Kanchanpreet’s involvement appeared because her husband, Amritpal Singh Bath, had been named in “23 FIRs.”
In its order, the High Court told the magistrate to consider the arguments raised by Kanchanpreet’s counsel before deciding on the police’s request for remand.
Since Kler informed the High Court that he would travel to Tarn Taran himself and would reach by 8 pm, the bench of Justice Rajesh Bhardwaj directed the magistrate to keep her in court custody and allow her lawyer to present his arguments in person.
Initially, the case had been registered only against her husband, Amritpal Singh Bath, for allegedly threatening complainant Gurpreet Kaur of Padhri Kalan to influence her vote.
However, on November 27, Kanchanpreet’s name was added to the FIR. She was booked under Sections “174”, “351”, “351”, and “111” of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
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Her release after the marathon midnight hearing marks a significant legal development in a case that has already triggered political controversy in Punjab, especially with the Akali Dal repeatedly calling the police action “political vendetta”.
The court’s observations on the legality of her arrest and the removal of the non-bailable section have added further weight to the ongoing debate.
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