Moga case: HC notice to Sukhbir Badal, Harsimrat Kaur Badal and CBI

Punjab and Haryana High Court on Tuesday issued notices to Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal, his wife and Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal and the CBI on a plea seeking CBI inquiry into the Moga molestation case.

A bench comprising justices Hemant Gupta and Lisa Gill sought their response by May 27 along with shareholding details of all operators owning more than 10 stage carriage buses from Punjab government as well the balance sheet of last five years of Orbit Aviation. It was hearing a plea filed by advocate Jasdeep Singh Bains for a CBI inquiry into the incident in which a teenage girl died after being molested and thrown off a running bus belonging to Orbit Aviation, a transport company owned by the Badals. The girl's mother had survived the attack.

The court also asked the state to inform the court on the number of cases registered against stage carriage operators in the state in past one year. The bench also directed the Advocate General, Punjab, to produce FIR No.62 dated April 30, 2015 registered at Police Station Baghapurana in Moga district and also disclose the criminal cases registered against the stage carriage permit holders in the last one year.

Earlier last week, the state government had provided details of buses owned by the state owned Punjab Roadways and PRTC and also the private operators. In its reply, the state told the High Court that there were 2,508 state owned buses and 3,543 private buses.