New Delhi, Oct 3 (IANS) In a significant relief to former Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, who was expelled from the state legislature, the Supreme Court Friday restrained the Central Election Commission from taking any steps to declare his Patiala assembly seat vacant.A bench headed by Justice B.N. Agrawal, however, refused to suspend the expulsion of Singh, saying that the court might be able to decide the legality or otherwise of his expulsion before the next assembly session.

Refusing also to suspend the ongoing criminal investigation against Singh for causing loss to the state exchequer by exempting taxes to a private builder in the Amritsar improvement trust scam, the bench said the police will continue to probe the matter but only as per the mandate of the law and not according to the directions or observations of the state assembly in the matter.