Chandigarh, Oct 07: A local court today adjourned the hearing in a case of alleged corruption involving misappropriation of Rs 20 lakh by former chief minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal during her tenure in early 1997. Additional district and sessions judge R S Baswana put off the hearing in the case till October 16 as Bhattal's counsel was not present in the court today. However, Bhattal, who is the agriculture minister in the Amarinder Singh government, was present in the court.

The complainant in the case, Balwant Singh Dhillon, pleaded the case be disposed of at the earliest. "I am feeling that instead of complainant I have become accused in the case. I am feeling harassed," Dhillon told the court.

The judge told him that all cases were priority for the court and there was no reason why this particular case should be treated "exceptionally".
"We want to dispose of each and every case at the earliest. I have to deal with it in a legal way," Baswana said, adding that if need be, the case would be taken up on October 17 also if discussions remained inconclusive on the previous day.

Dhillon, a Bathinda based advocate, had made a complaint against Bhattal in May 2001 alleging she "misappropriated Rs 20 lakh" during her brief stint as chief minister. The case was disposed off by a Bathinda court for lack of jurisdiction last year before it was reopened here.

Bureau Report