In a significant development, the Supreme Court of India is set to review three petitions challenging its previous decision to quash a cheating and forgery case against former Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and his son Sukhbir Singh Badal, the current president of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) party.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!The petitions seek a review of the Supreme Court’s April 2023 judgment, which dismissed the case against the Badals, stating that none of the alleged offences were substantiated. The review petitions have been filed by Balwant Khera and others against Sukhbir Singh Badal.
The original complaint, lodged by Hoshiarpur-based social activist and national vice-president of the Socialist Party, Balwant Singh Khera, accused the Badals and SAD senior vice-president Daljit Singh Cheema of forgery, cheating, and concealment of facts related to the party’s dual constitutions.
The review petition argues that the April 28 judgment contains several ‘serious errors apparent on the face of the record,’ leading to a ‘grave miscarriage of justice.’ The petition states,
“The errors are by way of mistakes of fact, as well as of law. The errors include – erroneous recording and appreciation of the allegations in the complaint, application of the incorrect ingredients of various provisions of the law, and erroneous recording that no false document was produced, although several such documents are on record, apart from a witness statement categorically admitting to the deception and fraud alleged.”
The petition further accuses the Supreme Court of conducting a mini-trial while quashing the summons, despite several judgments directing high courts to only find out if a prima facie case was made out based on the material collected. The petitioner insists that this was a ‘fit case’ for invoking the power of review by the Supreme Court enshrined in Article 137 of the Indian Constitution read with Order 47 of the Supreme Court Rules, 2013.
The review petition has been filed through Advocate Indira Unninayar. The case title is Balwant Singh Khera v. Sukhbir Singh Badal & Ors. | Review Petition (Criminal) No. ______ of 2023.
The case revolves around the issue of whether an offence of forgery was made out since the party has two different versions of its constitution, a secular version for the Election Commission, and another for the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC), the apex religious body responsible for the management of Gurudwaras across the country.
The appellants were summoned to face the trial under Sections 420, 465, 466, 467, 468, and 471 read with Section 120 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. The Badals and Cheema approached the apex court assailing an August 2021 order by which the Punjab and Haryana High Court had refused to quash the summons against them by the additional chief judicial magistrate of Hoshiarpur.
In April, a bench headed by Justice MR Shah allowed the appeals and quashed the criminal proceedings pending against Sukhbir Singh Badal, Parkash Singh Badal, and Daljit Singh Cheema, observing,
“We have considered the relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code, and observe that even taking into consideration the allegations, none of the ingredients of the offences are made out. Therefore, the high court ought to have quashed and set aside the summoning order. Even assuming the complainant’s averments to be true, the ingredients of the offences are not made out. The summoning order by the trial court is nothing but an abuse of the process of law and this is a ground for quashing the entire criminal proceedings, including the summoning order.”
The bench also clarified,
“We have set aside the summoning order only on the aforesaid ground and not said anything on the constitution of the party. The present order shall not affect the pending proceedings before the High Court of Delhi which is reported to be pending against an order passed by the Election Commission of India.”
The review petition argues that the main allegation has been erroneously recorded in a limited manner. It contends that the court considered the main allegation to be that of filing a false memorandum annexed with the application for registration under the Representation of the People Act, 1951. However, the petition asserts that “the issues are far larger and include the filing of a false constitution and undertaking before the Election Commission of India and the using of two different constitutions before two different authorities – one, a false and forged one, to meet the eligibility conditions for the party’s registration as a political party, and the other, the real one, to meet the eligibility conditions to contest the Sikh Gurdwara elections.”
The petitioner further insists that this was a ‘fit case’ for invoking the power of review by the Supreme Court. The petition states,
“The errors in this judgment have caused a very important criminal trial against the accused – powerful politicians – to get nipped in the bud and aborted at its nascent stage, despite abundant and compelling material and evidence pointing at their role in the offences alleged to have been committed. The trial is important as it reveals a plethora of evidence showing their involvement in a series of fraud, cheating, and forgery in a most brazen manner, and they may not be allowed to get away with such fraud. This is thus a clear case for invoking the power of review by the Supreme Court…to set right such wrongs that may have arisen due to judicial fallibility. It has been repeatedly held that the delivery of justice prevails above all, and that justice, must not only be done, but also, be seen to be done.”
Parkash Singh Badal passed away at the age of 95 on April 25, days before this judgment was passed. The outcome of this review petition will be closely watched, as it could have significant implications for the political landscape in Punjab and beyond.