AG Anmol Sidhu Resignation

Senior Advocate Dr Anmol Rattan Sidhu was appointed Advocate General of Punjab by the incoming Aam Aadmi Party government under Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on 19 March this year when they won the election in a landslide defying all odds.

Exactly 4 months on the day, on 19 July Dr Anmol Rattan Sidhu submitted his resignation to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann citing personal reasons.

Anmol Sidhu had replaced Senior Advocate DS Patwalia, who was appointed by the previous Congress government led by former Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi in November 2021.

The state has seen 5 Advocate General changed in past 10 months. Senior Advocate Vinod Ghai will be the fifth Advocate General (AG) of Punjab since September 2021.

In September 2021, Atul Nanda had resigned from the AG’s post following the unceremonious exit of Amarinder Singh as the chief minister of Punjab.

Senior Advocate Amar Preet Singh Deol followed Atul Nanda when he was appointed the AG during the Charanjit Singh Channi-led Congress government in Punjab.

Tow months later in November, Amar Preet Singh Deol too resigned.

After Deol, Senior Advocate Deepinder Singh Patwalia was appointed. AG Patwalia resigned from the post in March 2022 after AAP won the assembly elections in Punjab and chose to appoint Anmol Rattan Sidhu as the state’s Advocate General.

Also read: Bhagwant Mann sworn in as Chief Minister of Punjab

This is the second high-profile exit of senior officials in just four months of the Bhagwant Mann led Aam Aadmi Party government in Punjab. The first to quit was former police chief VK Bhawra.

Advocate General Anmol Rattan Sidhu was instrumental in Punjab Police getting the transit remand of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi from Delhi’s Tihar Jail after the gangster was named as the plotter behind the murder of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala on May 29.

Allegedly, Anmol Rattan Sindhu was attacked while returning to Punjab after attending a court hearing in Delhi to get hold of Lawrence Bishnoi custody for the state police.

It is being reported the cabin on the Shatabdi train in which AG Sidhu was travelling, had its window panes in smashed near Panipat in Haryana.

Some news reports also allege AG Anmol Sidhu had an argument with senior bureaucrats (IAS level officers) and decided to relinquish his high office as a matter of principle.

AG Sidhu’s exit is being seen as a setback for the Bhagwant Mann government as many sensitive cases such as those on alleged sacrilege are pending in court, and the state government may find itself without access to the skills of its top lawyer.

The Punjab government has seen setbacks in recent times inside courtrooms. BJP leader Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga got relief from the Punjab and Haryana High Court in a case filed in Mohali for allegedly making provocative statements on social media. Former Punjab Health Minister Vijay Singla, who faces corruption allegations, was granted bail. The Punjab government recently withdrew its petition from the high court that challenged an order of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes on appointment of law officers. And the state government was criticised by the high court for allegedly leaking security pruning details of VVIPs.

Senior advocate criminal lawyer Vinod Ghai is set to succeed him.

Vinod Ghai completed his LLB degree from the Panjab University in 1989 and was designated as a senior advocate in May 2012.

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