Five-timePunjab chief minister and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Parkash Singh Badalwill appear before a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the Kotkapurapolice firing case of 2015 at his residence here on June 22.
Earlier,Badal had expressed inability to appear before the panel on June 16, citingill-health and his age.
"Stillnot in good health, Mr Badal however is keen to fulfill his legal and constitutionalduties as a law abiding citizen of the country," a statement quotingHarcharan Bains, Principal Advisor to SAD President Sukhbir Singh Badal said onSunday.
Inhis two-page response to the summon from the SIT investigating the handling ofthe Kotkapura incidents by the previous government, Badal last week said,"the entire process of investigation already stands brazenly compromisedthrough blatant and unapologetic political interference and it reeks toostrongly of political vendetta to inspire any confidence about a fair processof law being followed."
Inspite of this, Badal had said, he will "cooperate fully" with theinvestigative process.
Theformer chief minister had also pointed out that the very need for the presentSIT has "arisen out of the brazen politicisation of the case by the previousSIT".
Inthis regard, Badal had come down heavily against "one of the members ofthe previous SIT" for his "openly political conduct" which hadallegedly subverted the entire investigative process.
"Withcallous and contemptuous disregard for all the established procedures andnorms, this officer completely usurped and appropriated to himself the entirefunctioning and designated role of all other members of the SIT, including itschairman, and rendered them totally redundant," Badal had said.
Badalwas the chief minister of Punjab when the police had opened fire on protestersin Kotkapura on October 14, 2015, killing two and injuring others.
TheSIT is to ascertain as to who gave the orders to open fire, whether the copsfired in self-defence and if standard operating procedure was followed.