Supreme Court grants pre-arrest bail to ex-Punjab DGP in 1991 murder case

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday granted anticipatory bail to former Punjab Director General of Police Sumedh Singh Saini in a three decade-old Balwant Singh Multani murder case.

A bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan said in case police arrests Saini, he would be released on bail on furnishing a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh with two sureties. The top court said Saini will have to cooperate in the investigations into the murder case.

The top court also asked Saini to surrender his passport, and he has also been directed to stay away from witnesses in the alleged murder case.

Earlier, the Supreme Court had asked the Punjab government not to file new cases against Saini seeking quashing of a fresh FIR lodged against him in the 1991 case of alleged murder of a junior engineer Balwant Singh Multani.

Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing Saini, submitted it seems that every day his client would have to challenge a new case.

"Now my client says third case has been registered. How will one man fight against the might of the state. The vendetta (by the present Chief Minister) needs to be stopped. Why can probe continue on the statement of the approver. What the state is doing to me in unfair," submitted Rohatgi.

In September, the High Court had dismissed Saini's plea seeking anticipatory bail in the alleged murder case.

Multani, a resident of Mohali, was picked up by police after a terrorist attack on Saini, who was then the senior superintendent of police in Chandigarh, in 1991. Later, police claimed Multani had escaped police custody.

In May, Saini was booked at a police station in Mohali along with six others in the case and in August, murder charge was added after two of the accused policemen gave details of the incident.