Rajya Sabha bypoll: Punjab v. Chandigarh in High Court over forgery case of Janata Party President

The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Wednesday issued notice to the Chandigarh administration on a plea filed by the Punjab government challenging the former's refusal to allow the arrest of Janata Party President Navneet Chaturvedi, who is accused of forging signatures of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) lawmakers to file his Rajya Sabha nomination papers [State of Punjab v. Union Territory of Chandigarh and Others]..Justice Tribuhan Dahiya also issued notice to the Punjab Police on a separate petition moved by Chaturvedi for a stay on his arrest in the criminal cases related to the alleged forgery. The Court listed the petitions for hearing on November 4. Earlier, the petitions filed today were listed following an urgent mentioning by the counsel representing Chaturvedi and the Punjab government..Chaturvedi in his nomination papers had reportedly named 10 AAP MLAs as his proposers for the Rajya Sabha bypoll scheduled on October 24. However, his nomination papers were rejected on Tuesday on the ground that the signatures of these lawmakers were forged. The MLAs had registered separate complaints in Punjab for action against Chaturvedi, leading to filing of First Information Reports (FIRs) against him.Apprehending his arrest, Chaturvedi is stated to have sought protection of the Chandigarh Police. The Punjab government in its petition before the High Court alleged that the Chandigarh Police was preventing it from arresting Chaturvedi and coming in the way of execution of a warrant issued against him by the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Rupnagar. "The deliberate non-cooperation, obstruction, and shielding of the accused by Respondent Police officers have resulted in abuse of authority, interference with judicial process, and violation of the rule of law. The petitioner thus seeks appropriate directions from this Hon'ble Court to ensure enforcement of lawful warrants, transfer of custody of the accused to Punjab Police, and initiation o f contempt and departmental action against the concerned officials responsible for defiance of court orders," the State government said..The Tribune reported that over 200 Punjab Police officers remained stationed outside the Sector 3 Police Station in Chandigarh to arrest Chaturvedi. As per other media reports, there was also a dramatic confrontation between Chandigarh Police and Ropar police near Sukhna Lake over his custody..Chaturvedi in his petition before the High Court claimed that due to political differences within the AAP, the MLAs had chosen to support him as an independent candidate for the Rajya Sabha. However, the plea adds that the State government put pressure on the MLAs and they filed police complaints against him."That the entire process o f filing nomination has taken place in U.T. Chandigarh, but State of Punjab in order make sure that the petitioner does not pursue fighting and contesting the election against Rajender Gupta and that he wins the elections uncontested, State of Punjab has taken multiple complaints from the MLAs and got registered multiple FIRs," the plea states further..Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.