The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Friday dismissed petitions seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the desecration of religious texts and police firing incidents in the State in 2015 and challenging the findings of Ranjit Singh Commission into the incidents.
Justice Rajan Gupta said the special investigation team (SIT) formed by the Punjab government would probe the incidents.
A bunch of petitions challenging the findings of the commission had been filed by former Moga SSP Charanjit Singh Sharma, his gunman, former Mansa SSP Raghbir Singh, and SHOs Amarjit Singh and Shamsher Singh.
The petitioners had demanded a CBI probe into the incidents of desecration of the Guru Granth Sahib and related police firings.
They had also challenged a Punjab Assembly resolution passed in August last year for taking back investigation of the incidents from the CBI.
With the dismissal of the petitions, the interim stay granted on proceedings against police officers for their alleged role in firing on protesters at Behbal Kalan in 2015 where two people died, stands vacated.
Punjab Advocate General Atul Nanda said, “Our stand has been that the findings of the [Ranjit Singh] commission are meant for the information of the government. These are not findings of the court of law as such.”
Last year, the State government added names of the four police officers in an FIR registered at Baja Khana police station, under IPC sections for murder and attempt to murder, on the recommendation of the commission report on police firing at Behbal Kalan, following which the officers had challenged the report.
