The Punjab and Haryana High Court on September 2, 2026, set aside the dismissal of Punjab Police Deputy Superintendent Gursher Singh Sandhu. Sandhu had been sacked in January 2025 over his role in facilitating a controversial jailhouse interview with gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, which was recorded overnight on September 3 and 4, 2022, at the Central Investigation Agency office in Kharar. Justice Namit Kumar directed the Punjab government to reinstate Sandhu with all consequential benefits.
The court ruled that the government failed to show circumstances making a regular inquiry not reasonably practicable, which is the constitutional standard required to bypass one. Justice Kumar found no evidence that Sandhu had threatened witnesses, tampered with evidence, or interfered with the inquiry process, and rejected the state’s argument that non-cooperation or mere inconvenience met the constitutional threshold for summary dismissal.
The ruling does not clear Sandhu of wrongdoing outright. The court preserved the state’s right to continue a separate departmental inquiry already pending against him and other officers.