The Punjab and Haryana High Court issued a stay on the arrest of former Rajya Sabha member and Managing Editor of Ajit Group of Publications, Barjinder Singh Hamdard, in a recent cheating and corruption case. The case, registered by the Vigilance Bureau in Jalandhar about a week ago, pertains to the construction and operation of the Jang-E-Azadi Memorial.
Justice Vinod S Bhardwaj’s order will remain effective at least until July 18, when the case is scheduled for further hearing. Representing Hamdard were senior advocate RS Cheema, along with R. Kartikeya and Arshdeep Singh Cheema.
The court has also issued a notice to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Hamdard is seeking the transfer of the case to an independent agency, alleging that he has been “falsely dragged into a controversy” to compel him to yield to government pressure and publish paid news and advertisements disguised as news articles, thereby compromising his journalistic ethics.
Hamdard argued that the allegations are an attempt by the current government to settle personal scores through a targeted investigation into the Jang-E-Azadi Memorial project. He noted that the project, which honors Punjab’s freedom fighters, was undertaken at the behest of former Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, who valued Hamdard’s reputation in journalism and literature.
Despite professional constraints, Hamdard stated that he dedicated himself to the successful completion of the memorial. He claims the current government is now conducting a baseless inquiry into the project’s management to unfairly target him for extraneous reasons.
