Chandigarh (TIP): Former Punjab DGP Sumedh Singh Saini was released from the custody of the state Vigilance Bureau on Friday, August 20, on the directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which termed his arrest as “patently illegal”.

The court order on Thursday, Au gust 19, came on a habeas corpus plea filed by Saini’s wife a day after he was arrested by the Vigilance Bureau in connection with a case registered in September 2020 for cheating, forgery, corruption and other offences.

Ruling that Saini’s arrest was in violation of three earlier orders of the High Court, a single bench of Justice Arun Kumar Tyagi ordered his immediate release. Saini was released at around 2 am from a Mohali court.

Saini’s lawyers contended that he was illegally arrested in the FIR No. 11, dated September 17, 2020, “due to mala fides, malice and ulterior motives as a result of political vendetta”. Also, Saini has been granted interim anticipatory bail in FIR No. 13, dated August 2, on the same allegations.

Lawyers representing Punjab said Saini was arrested in a case which did not have any connection to his service career and thus not violative of earlier HC orders.