NEW DELHI, June 26 — The Supreme Court has raised serious concerns over how a journalist managed to conduct an interview with alleged gangster Lawrence Bishnoi inside jail premises, even as dismissed Punjab Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Gursher Singh Sandhu sought to quash proceedings against him arising from the incident.
A Bench comprising Justice KV Viswanathan and Justice N Kotiswar Singh, while hearing Sandhu’s plea, questioned how the journalist gained access to a high-security jail facility. “How did the journalist reach inside?” the Bench asked, expressing concern over the apparent lapse in prison security.
The court, noting that Sandhu’s petition against the issuance of a notice under Section 41A of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) was already listed before the Punjab and Haryana High Court for July 3, permitted him to withdraw the petition. Sandhu has also separately challenged his dismissal from service.
Representing Sandhu, senior advocate Vikram Chaudhri argued that his client was being selectively targeted, despite the journalist who conducted the interview having secured interim protection from the Supreme Court. Chaudhri maintained that Sandhu never had direct access to Bishnoi and was not named in the original FIR.
Responding to the argument that Sandhu was not an accused yet was summoned under Section 41A, the Bench pointed out that he had been the officer in charge the night before the interview occurred.
Bishnoi, who is accused in the May 29, 2022, murder of singer Sidhu Moosewala, was then lodged in Bathinda jail. In March 2023, two controversial interviews with Bishnoi aired on a private news channel, allegedly recorded over video calls while he was in custody, raising questions about rampant use of mobile phones inside prisons.
The Punjab and Haryana High Court had taken suo motu cognisance of the issue and ordered an FIR and an investigation by a special investigation team (SIT) led by senior IPS officer Prabodh Kumar. Even after his retirement, the court instructed Kumar to continue leading the probe.
The Supreme Court had already dismissed Bishnoi’s plea challenging the High Court’s directive to register an FIR over the interviews and proceed with the SIT probe. The SIT’s findings revealed that one interview took place during the intervening night of September 3–4, 2022, while Bishnoi was in Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) Kharar custody. The second was allegedly conducted from a Rajasthan jail.
In response, the Punjab Government suspended seven police officers, including Sandhu, and initiated departmental proceedings.
In November 2024, the Punjab and Haryana High Court had remarked that police officers not only allowed the use of electronic devices within jail premises but also facilitated a studio-like setup for the interviews.
Bishnoi is currently lodged in Sabarmati Jail, Gujarat, under high-security conditions.
