Labelled an assassin, man seeks damages for 12 lost yrs

Navjot was just a 26-year-old lad when the blast, which occurred near the Civil Secretariat on August 31, 1995, tore his life apart.

And now he seeks damages for all the harassment and torture he underwent all these years. Today, the court of Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM), J S Bhinder, admitted Navjot’s petition claiming a compensation of Rs 50 crore from the Union of India, the Chandigarh Administration, the Delhi Administration and two senior Central Bureau of Investigation officials.

The petition
He has claimed Rs 10 crore as damages for “monetary loss by way of losing salary, promotions” and “an unsettled life, missing out on marriage, procreation and business.” Also, he claimed Rs 50 lakh as litigation expenses and Rs 39.5 crore for the loss of reputation, mental and physical torture and detention for 12 years.

The petition stated that during the period of his police remand, Superintendent of Police R S Dhankar, SCR-111, CBI (HQ), New Delhi, and S N Saxena, SP, Special Crime Branch, CBI, Mumbai, tortured Navjot and put him under pressure to become a prosecution witness in the case. It further states that CBI officials entered into a criminal conspiracy with the Delhi Police to falsely implicate Navjot in another criminal case. The case was finally dismissed on January 14 this year.

The petition states: “The mental agony and torture suffered by the plaintiff during the police remand and thereafter by remaining confined to jail premises for about 12 years was horrible and inhumane. The trial was also conducted on the jail premises, which proved to be torturous. He also suffered in terms of reputation on account of being falsely implicated. He had to bear the stigma of being a murderer when he was not even remotely concerned with the case.”

Father says
Navjot’s father Tarlok Singh led an unrelenting struggle to get his son released and now stands shoulder-to-shoulder with him in this battle.

Singh said: “I have constantly tried to keep Navjot’s morale high. As I always knew that he was innocent, I never had a doubt that he would be acquitted. Although it took him several months to come to terms with reality, Navjot has now reconciled to the past. I just want a normal life, away from any controversy, for my son now.”

Tarlok Singh is a retired gazetted bank officer and his mother is working as a government school teacher. Navjot has a degree in MA (English) from the Panjab University and was employed in Ranbaxy Laboratories in November 1995, when he was arrested.