NEW DELHI: Giving a clean chit to veteran Punjab leader late Prakash Singh Badal and his son Sukhbir Badal, the Supreme Court on Friday quashed summons issued against them in a case of cheating and forgery on charges of dual constitution of their party Shiromani Akali Dal.
A bench of Justices M R Shah C T Ravikumar declared no ingredients of offences of cheating, forgery and others were made out in the matter.
The pleas before the top court were filed Sukhbir Singh Badal, Parkash Singh Badal and Dr Daljit Singh Cheema.
The court quashed the criminal proceedings pending before Punjabs Hoshiarpur Court in the alleged case of forgery and cheating filed against them in the controversy over dual constitution of Shiromani Akali Dal.
Hoshiarpur resident Balwant Singh Khera had filed a criminal complaint before the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate in 2009.
The SAD was accused of submitting two different constitutions, i.e., one with the Gurdwara Election Commission (GEC) and the second with the Election Commission of India (ECI) to seek recognition as a political party.
It was alleged that the party has claimed to be a secular party and given a declaration to abide by the principles of secularism in its constitution filed before ECI, while it contests elections for a religious body, Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee, thereby being a religious party.
Senior advocates K V Vishwanathan, appeared for Prakash Singh Badal, R S Cheema, for Sukhbir Singh Badal.
Advocates Prashant Bhushan and Indira Unninayar appeared for complainant Khera.
On behalf of petitioners, it was argued that being religious does not run contrary to the principles of secularism and merely because a political outfit is contesting elections to a Gurdwara committee does not mean that it is not secular.
