“Directing the CBI to provide the documents within two weeks”, a Vacation Bench of Justice JK Maheshwari and Justice KV Viswanathan, an appeal by Kalyani Singh. She had challenged an April 2024 order from the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which denied her access to certain documents.
![[Sippy Sidhu Murder Case] SC Directs CBI to Supply Witness Statements To Prime Accused Kalyani Singh](https://i0.wp.com/lawchakra.in/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/MicrosoftTeams-image-23-4.png?resize=820%2C615&ssl=1)
NEW DELHI: On Wednesday, May 29th: The Supreme Court directed the CBI to provide witness statements to Kalyani Singh, the prime accused in the murder case of national-level shooter and lawyer Sippy Sidhu.
The Supreme Court directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to provide certain documents to the accused, Kalyani Singh, within two weeks.
The order was issued by a Vacation Bench comprising Justice JK Maheshwari and Justice KV Viswanathan, following an appeal by Kalyani Singh against the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s decision in April 2024, which had denied her access to these documents.
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Sippy Sidhu, a 35-year-old national-level shooter and advocate, was tragically shot dead by unidentified assailants in a park in Chandigarh in September 2015. Sippy Sidhu was the grandson of the late Justice SS Sidhu, a former judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The case garnered significant attention, leading to its transfer to the CBI in 2016 by the Chandigarh Administration’s Home Secretary.
Kalyani Singh, the daughter of retired Punjab and Haryana High Court judge Justice Sabina, was arrested by the CBI on June 15, 2022. The CBI alleged that Kalyani, in collusion with another person, murdered Sippy Sidhu after he allegedly rejected her marriage proposal. The prosecution claims that Kalyani was seen conversing with Sidhu and subsequently killing him on the night of September 20, 2015.
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Kalyani Singh was granted bail by the Punjab and Haryana High Court in September 2022. The CBI has since framed murder charges against her, with the trial set to begin shortly. In the latest proceedings, Kalyani’s counsel, Senior Advocate Siddharth Dave, argued that she had a right to access the statements of witnesses recorded under Section 161 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) by the Chandigarh Police, which were not included in the CBI’s charge sheet after the investigation was transferred.
Advocate Zoheb Hossain, representing the CBI, stated that the documents in question were not relied upon by the agency and that Kalyani Singh could seek recourse under Section 91 of the CrPC, which allows the court to summon documents. Hossain assured that the CBI would not oppose such a request.
Acknowledging the arguments, the Supreme Court directed the CBI to supply the requested documents within two weeks. The Bench emphasized that this order was based on the “peculiar facts and circumstances of the case,” as highlighted by Advocate Hossain.
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The case was initially investigated by the Chandigarh Police and later transferred to the CBI. After a delay of nearly nine years, the trial court framed charges against Kalyani on May 4, 2023.
In the Supreme Court, the CBI’s counsel stated that they had “no objection to supplying the documents as demanded, as the charges had already been framed”.
The apex court, in its order, stated,
“In view of the peculiar facts and circumstances of the case, in which a categorical stand is taken by the parties, we direct CBI to supply the documents, as conceded by learned counsel, within two weeks from today.”
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