Chandigarh, April 16
The Punjab and Haryana High Court, in an interim order, on Wednesday asked the Punjab government not to take "coercive" action against Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa till April 22.
The high court also sought the government’s response on Congress legislator Bajwa’s plea to quash the first information report (FIR) against him for spreading misleading information that endangers the country's sovereignty and unity.
A vacation bench of Justice Deepak Gupta, while issuing a notice returnable by April 22, said "no coercive" action shall be taken against the petitioner until the next date of hearing.
Bajwa approached the High Court on Tuesday, seeking the quashing of the FIR. He purportedly told a news channel that "50 bombs had been sneaked into the state, out of which 18 had exploded and 32 more are still there".
As per the petition, Bajwa was asked on a TV show aired on April 13 about the recent deterioration in the law and order situation in Punjab, which has resulted in bomb blasts at various locations over the past six months, including one at the house of a BJP leader and former Cabinet Minister.