The Additional District and Sessions Judge on Monday heard the matter regarding the stay on the order to conduct lie detector (polygraph) tests of five Punjab Police constables, including Constable Simranjit Singh, in the gangster Lawrence Bishnoi interview case. During the hearing, Additional District and Sessions Judge T P S Randhawa scheduled the case for April 29 for further arguments from both sides. Advocate Sultan Singh Sangha, for the petitioners, argued that “under pressure from senior officers, consent for the tests was forcibly obtained”. He said “at the time the order was passed, a senior IPS officer (of the rank of ADGP) was present in the court”.
During the last hearing, according to advocate Sangha, several documents were submitted, including a notice (Annexure-P2) to appear before the SIT on April 5, 2025, and a forcibly obtained consent (Annexure-P3). The petitioners filed an affidavit retracting their earlier consent. They cited legal precedents emphasizing a lie detector or polygraph test cannot be conducted without informed, voluntary consent, legal counsel, and judicial recording. The lawyer argued these safeguards were not followed.
Considering these concerns, the court stayed proceedings until April 28, and issued notice to the state and the SHO concerned.A Special Investigation Team, led by the Special DGP (Human Rights), found Bishnoi’s interviews were recorded while he was in Punjab Police custody at CIA Kharar and later in Rajasthan. The issue surfaced after a private channel aired Bishnoi’s interviews in March 2023.