Chandigarh: Two days after Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said that Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann’s wife Gurpreet Kaur had sent a legal notice to former high court judge Ranjit Singh in connection with allegations that she sought Rs 5 crore to “suppress a rape case”, he said he hadn’t received any.“I want to make one thing clear: I have not received any legal notice till today. And even if I do receive one, I am not afraid of it. I will not respond to that notice. If they choose to take the matter to court, then whatever facts we present before the court, and whatever consequences follow for those who take it to the court, they themselves will be responsible for the outcome,” Justice Singh (retd) said at a news conference on Monday.“I also want to make it clear that it will not be only those against whom allegations have been made who may be involved. Many other people may also come under scrutiny, including police and several others who may be involved,” said Singh, chairman of Punjab Human Rights Organisation (PHRO). “What we brought before you was based on facts,” he asserted.Referring to a July 20 Punjab and Haryana high court order, Justice Singh (retd) said, “The decision of July 20 was not brought before the public by any newspaper or press reporter. We merely mentioned, as a matter of record, that a rape victim was being subjected to injustice and that her human rights were being violated. We considered it our duty to bring this before the public so that she could get justice. We had no other motive. Punjab Human Rights Organisation did not make any allegations against anyone on its own. We simply brought the matter before you on the basis of the court’s decision.”PHRO will continue doing its work, he said, adding: “We are not afraid of anyone. We stand by the truth. We assure you that in the future as well, if any issue concerning human-rights violations arises against any individual, regardless of what position that person holds, we will take it up and stand firmly by it.”A copy of the legal notice, dated Aug 22, surfaced on social media on Monday. Sent by an advocate on behalf of Mann’s wife, it names a Doordarshan anchor and Justice Singh (retd) as the intended recipients. It accuses the former judge of making “serious, false and malicious imputations” against Gurpeet Kaur “without verifying facts”, and calls the allegation “wholly false, baseless, defamatory.”Senior advocate Rajvinder Singh Bains, who accompanied Justice Singh (retd) at the news conference, said, “Filing a petition in court, making a complaint to an officer and making public the court judgment does not come under the purview of defamation.”Bains said the CM’s wife might have been advised by the legal team that it was not an offence, which was probably why “the notice was not sent”. Referring to the court order, Bains described the allegations as “undoubtedly serious”.“We want them to file a defamation case against us so that we can respond to allegations against us with evidence,” said Bains.On Sunday, speaking to mediapersons on the sidelines of a Teej function in Patiala, Gurpreet Kaur had strongly rejected the bribery allegations and called them completely baseless. She dared her accusers to either prove their claims or face legal action.On Aug 22, AAP MLA Amandeep Kaur had said: “The CM’s wife has sent a legal notice over the allegations levelled against her by (retired judge) Ranjit Singh, brother-in-law of Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira, seeking an apology within 24 hours, failing which legal proceedings would be initiated.”
