Punjab & Haryana High Court Quashes CBI Chargesheet Against Bhupinder Singh Hooda in Panchkula Plot Case
Babushahi Bureau
Chandigarh, February 25, 2026:
In a major legal setback to the investigating agency, the Punjab & Haryana High Court on Tuesday quashed the CBI chargesheet as well as the trial court’s charges framed against former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and The Associated Journals Limited (AJL) in the Panchkula institutional-plot re-allotment case linked to the National Herald.
The verdict, delivered through a detailed 44-page judgment, was authored by Justice Tribhuvan Dahiya, who made it clear that investigative agencies cannot step into the role of courts or convert administrative decisions into criminal prosecutions merely on suspicion or political overtones.
Administrative decision, not a criminal offence
At the heart of the case was the re-allotment of an institutional plot in Panchkula to AJL. The plot had originally been allotted decades earlier for publication-related purposes but was later resumed due to non-construction. In 2005, after Bhupinder Singh Hooda assumed office as Chief Minister—and ex officio Chairman of the concerned development authority—a decision was taken to restore the plot subject to payment of re-allotment charges and other dues.
AJL deposited the required amounts, raised construction, and was subsequently granted an occupation certificate. The authority later ratified the re-allotment decision ex post facto.
The criminal proceedings, which began as a vigilance enquiry and were later handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), sought to portray this sequence of administrative actions as a criminal conspiracy involving cheating and corruption.
Court’s sharp message to investigators
Justice Dahiya found the CBI’s approach fundamentally flawed. The Court noted that the re-allotment decision had never been set aside by any competent judicial or statutory forum. In such circumstances, the investigating agency could not presume illegality on its own and then use that assumption as the basis for criminal charges.
The judgment underlined a crucial principle: criminal law cannot be used as a substitute for administrative or policy review. Investigative agencies, the Court observed, are bound by law and evidence—not by retrospective reinterpretation of policy decisions that remain valid in the eyes of law.
Wider implications
Legal observers say the ruling carries significance beyond the immediate case, as it reinforces institutional boundaries between administrators, investigators, and courts. By drawing a clear line between alleged administrative irregularities and criminal culpability, the High Court has reiterated that policy decisions, even if controversial, do not automatically translate into criminal offences.
With the chargesheet and trial court proceedings set aside, the judgment brings substantial relief to Bhupinder Singh Hooda and AJL, while also serving as a cautionary note to investigative agencies against overreach in politically sensitive matters.