Charges dropped against Delta Driving instructor

CALGARY – An Alberta judge says he believes Sukhjeet Sall’s pleas of innocence are credible and has dismissed the charges against the former instructor of the notorious Delta Driving School in Calgary.

Justice David Wilkins also blasted Alberta Registries investigator Mike Leonard for “coercing some of the witnesses” in the case “into changing their stories,” Canadian Press reports.

The truck training facility made headlines last year when a two-year investigation into the school concluded with the arrests of Sall, as well as fellow instructor Jaswant Singh and a medical doctor. They were accused of forging documents so that untrained students could get their Class 1 licences.

As many as 172 drivers with little or no training behind the wheel were allegedly handed licences for fees of up to $2,500. The City of Calgary revoked the school’s business licence last March.

An Edmonton undercover police officer had testified in the case of Singh that he intentionally failed a written exam at the driving school, was given advice by the instructor to review his wrong answers, and was subsequently given a passing grade, CP reported at the time.

In Sall’s recent case witness Namdeep Deol testified Sall gave her a licence even though she has never been able to drive a tractor-trailer.

But Wilkins ruled Deol only made the admission because “Leonard threatened to cancel her regular drivers’ licence unless she cooperated.” Judge Wilkins also said he believed Wilkins bullied another witness into testifying against Sall as well.

Shortly after news of the scam broke out in February 2005, the government and trucking industry officials announced they would create a pilot program that would train and certify Alberta truck drivers as professionals.

— with files from Canadian Press