Another witness today turned hostile before a special court here which is dealing with a graft disproportionate assets case against Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, his son Sukbir and wife Surinder Badal.
While the CM had sought exemption from personal appearance due to preoccupation in official business for the ninth consecutive time, Deputy CM Sukhbir Badal and Surinder Badal, who had already been granted permanent exemption from personal
appearance in the case, were now abroad after procuring prior
permission from the court.
The court accepted the exemption plea of the CM for today while seven other accused on bail, except those who had been declared proclaimed offenders, were present in the court.
In yet another reprieve to the Badals, a Mumbai-based leading evaluator Bharat Shah of Bharat Shah and Associates, denied ever evaluating the properties of the Badals or submitting any assessment and evaluation report.
Resiling from a his alleged statement recorded by the Vigilance Bureau on November 7, 2003, Shah squarely distanced himself from any evaluation or assessment of the Badals' assets and reports submitted thereof.
Since no other witnesses, who were summoned for today, turned up due to non-service of their summons, the court issued their fresh summons for appearance on next date fixed for April 3.
The case against the Badals was registered against them by Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) in Mohali on June 24, 2003.
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