HC quashes dismissal of Punjab cop over Bishnoi interview

Sandhu, a 2016-batch officer, was dismissed by the Punjab government on January 2, 2025, for allegedly facilitating the recording of an interview of Bishnoi in police custody in September 2022 when the gangster was in a Kharar CIA facility.

In March 2023, a private news channel aired two interviews of Bishnoi. The Punjab Police had initially denied that these interviews took place within the state. Later, an SIT probe found that one of the interviews was conducted at Punjab Police facility in Kharar on the intervening night of September 3 and 4 in 2022 and the second interview was conducted in Rajasthan. Following alleged indictment of Sandhu by the SIT, he was terminated from service and a criminal case was registered.

He was dismissed from service by invoking powers under Article 311 (2) (b). Among other grounds, he had challenged the dismissal arguing that the order could have been passed after conducting inquiry and giving reasonable opportunity of him being heard, which was not done in the case in hand. He had also claimed that he was made a “scapegoat” as no other senior officer faced termination of service.