The Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed the authorities to conduct a second post-mortem of the body of slain gangster Jaipal Singh Bhullar who was allegedly killed in a staged fake encounter and was subjected to grievous torture in custody after the firm directions of the Apex Court.
The court in its order observed that, “Agitation has thrown up an extraordinary situation, and more so in the states of Punjab and Haryana. It is not simply a law and order problem, and courts are battling to reconcile the competing rights and interests of all the stakeholders.”
On June 17, the Punjab and Haryana High Court had dismissed a petition filed by Bhullar's father seeking directions to the state of Punjab to conduct a second autopsy of his son's body either at PGIMER or AIIMS, Delhi.
The high court observed that the aggrieved persons can avail alternative remedy, “but a large number of petitions land in the lap of this court as according to writ petitions alternative remedy is less felicitous.”
“The concept of a live-in relationship may not be acceptable to all, but it cannot be said that such a relationship is an illegal one or that living together without the sanctity of marriage constitutes an offence.”
It is pertinent to mention here that the Punjab and Haryana High Court had passed two orders on May 11 and 12, denying protection to two couples, on the ground that live-in relationships are not socially acceptable.
During the investigation, the petitioner and the co-accused were apprehended on May 28, 2020, and they admitted their involvement in the homicide in their disclosure statement.
The judge, who hails from Haryana, is scheduled to become Chief Justice on November 24, 2025, after his predecessors Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice Sanjiv Khanna, and Justice BR Gavai.
The bench said, "This extreme technicality in difficult times of the Covid-19 pandemic is highly deplorable. In fact, the state ought to have facilitated import of the ventilators.