The Punjab and Haryana High Court has refused to order a fresh probe into a corruption case against former minister Sunder Sham Arora.
The Bench said the investigation could not be treated as biased merely because it was conducted by an officer subordinate to the complainant.
The High Court also clarified that the observations made in the judgment were only for deciding the petition and would have no bearing on the pending trial.
The petition had sought the quashing of the FIR registered on October 15, 2022, under the Prevention of Corruption Act by the Vigilance Bureau, along with all subsequent proceedings arising from it.
Directions were also sought for quashing the final report or challan dated December 3, 2022, and the order dated August 29, 2023, passed by a Mohali special judge, dismissing Arora’s application seeking discharge from the case.
The HC was told that the FIR was lodged on a complaint submitted by an AIG to the Chief Director of the Vigilance Bureau, Punjab. The case was assigned to a DSP, Vigilance Bureau, for investigation.
The Bench was also told that the petitioner was allegedly caught with currency notes worth Rs 50 lakh in the presence of witnesses on October 15, 2022.
