BJP leader and former Punjab FM Manpreet Badal granted interim bail

The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Monday granted interim bail to former Punjab finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal in connection with alleged irregularities in the purchase of a property in Bathinda.

Badal had moved the high court after a court in Bathinda rejected his anticipatory bail plea on October 4.

His counsel Arshdeep Singh Cheema said the bench of Justice Vikas Bahl granted interim bail to Badal, who is now with the BJP.

The Punjab Vigilance bureau had booked Badal and five others in connection with the case.

An arrest warrant had earlier been issued by the court in Bathinda against Badal.

Several teams of the bureau had conducted raids at various locations in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Rajasthan but could not trace Badal.

The vigilance bureau had launched an investigation into the matter based on former MLA Sarup Chand Singla's 2021 complaint alleging irregularities in the purchase of the property at a prime location in Bathinda.

BJP leader Singla, who was earlier with the Shiromani Akali Dal, had alleged that Badal, as a minister in the previous Congress dispensation, had abused his position to convert two commercial plots into a residential plot for himself.

A case was registered under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code, including sections 420 (cheating) and 468 (forgery), and also under provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

During the probe, it was found that Badal allegedly abused his position to purchase two plots measuring 1,560 square yards in Model Town phase-1 Bathinda, thereby causing a financial loss of lakhs of rupees to the state exchequer, according to the vigilance bureau.

It was found that Badal allegedly colluded with the officials of the Bathinda Development Authority and misled the general public during the bidding of plots in 2021. Fake maps were uploaded to prevent public participation in the bidding process, the bureau had alleged.