Chandigarh, Dec 08: A local court today reserved till December 10 its verdict on framing of charges in a case of misappropriation against Punjab agriculture minister, Rajinder Kaur Bhattal during her short stint as chief minister six years back. Additional district and sessions judge R S Baswana fizzed Wednesday afternoon as the next date of pronouncement of order after arguments in the case ended today.

Submitting before the court, counsel for complainant in the case, Bhatinda based advocate Balwant Singh Dhillon, pleaded that charges in the case be framed against Bhattal, alleging that she had misused Rs 20 lakh relief funds withdrawn by her.

While Bhattal's counsel has been maintaining that no proper sanction was taken to prosecute a public servant, the complainant's counsel contended that there was no thumb rule in this regard and things changed from case to case.

Bhattal has said that the money was meant for disbursal among the needy poor and institutions. Bureau Report