RAJ SINGH v. STATE OF P OF PUNJAB
Case Details
CRM-M-2515 242 25158-2025 IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB IGARH AT CHANDIGAR NJAB AND HARYANA CRM-M-25158-2025 Date of decision: 03.07.2025 RAJ SINGH ...Petitioner Versus STATE OF P OF PUNJAB …Respondent CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE ANOOP CH P CHITKARA Present: Mr. L.S. Sidhu, Advocate for the petitio petitioner. Mr. Jasdev Singh Thind, D.A.G., Punja , Punjab. Mr. J.K. Singla, Advocate for the comp e complainant. ANOOP CHITK HITKARA, J. **** FIR No. Dated Police Station Sections 20 06.04.2025 Jaukian, Distric District 126(2), 191(3), 190, 115(2), Mansa 324(4) of BNS, 2023 and 25 of Arms Act (117(4) BNS added later on) 1. The petit
Facts
e petitioner apprehending arrest in the FIR c efore e FIR captioned above has come up before this Court unde under Section 482 of Bharatiya Nagarik SS], agarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, [BNSS], seeking anticipat ticipatory bail. 2. As per pa per paragraph 9 of the bail application and y the on and as per the status report filed by the State, the accuse accused has no criminal antecedents. 3. The facts e facts and allegations are being taken from hich n from the reply filed by the State, which llows: reads as follows: dated 05.04.202 going towards Ja 2928 that on the cousin (son of m puncture repair white colour, No driven by Ravnee vehicle Raju Sing vehicle. Raju Sing down from the v holding GANDAS “ Stated that I am resident of aforesaid .2025, time was about 10:00 AM, that I ds Jaggi Flour Mill from our home on ou the circular road, Khuh Wala Chowk, m of my Taya) Nirmal Singh were stand pair shop of Sarwan Singh on our motor r, No. HR-22-P-9987 came from the op vneet Singh son of Baltej Singh, resident Singh Sarpanch was sitting. They inter Singh Sarpanch son of Jag Singh was ho the vehicle and from the rear doors Kulvir DASA in one hand and revolver in the oth esaid address. I am an agriculturist. On On at I and my father Maghar Singh were ere - n our motorcycle Deluxe No. PB-31-N- k, my nephew Tejwinder Singh and my my tanding. When we reached near the the of otorcycle then one Scorpio vehicle, of ing e opposite direction which was being dent of Makha. On the front seat of the the intercepted our motorcycle with their eir me as holding double barrel rifle. He came ulvir Singh son of Raju Singh, who was as of e other hand and Rachhpal Singh son of Jyoti 2025.07.08 09:43 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document 1 25158-2025 CRM-M-2515 Gurmeet Singh, w Gurwinder Singh flywheel and Jas handed, came ou PANCHAYAT elec In the meantime I and my father, blow of GANDAS fallen motorcycle Thereafter Kulvir Maghar Singh. M hand thumb. In t SOTI, held in his down. While I wa with flywheel, he butt blow of his of Makha, also c father. Thereaft standing nearby, RAULA of "Maar Singh and Tejwin the meantime al respective weapo my father Magh Sahib gave treat Bathinda for trea against Raju Sing Singh son of Gu Jasvir Singh son Singh, resident o helped Nirmal S connivance with recorded my stat gh, who was holding SOTI in his one han ingh alias Babbu son of Bogha Singh, wh d Jasvir Singh son of Sukhdev Singh, re e out of the vehicle. Raju Singh Sarpanc elections they have helped Nirmal Singh, time Raju Singh Sarpanch gave butt blow ther, along with motorcycle, fell down. In DASA, held in his hand, towards me. I ste rcycle. With this blow my motorcycle No ulvir Singh gave blow of GANDASA, hel gh. My father extended his left hand to sa . In the meantime, when I tried to get up his hand, towards me. The blow landed I was lying down Gurwinder Singh alias B el, held in his hand, on my right arm. Th f his rifle on my nose. Thereafter Ravneet lso came down from the vehicle. He gave reafter Jasvir Singh son of Sukhdev Sin arby, gave fist and kick blow to me and m Maar Ditta Maar Ditta". On hearing our ejwinder Singh son of Ajaib Singh, reside e all these persons fled away from the sp eapons. Thereafter Nirmal Singh arrange aghar Singh admitted at Civil Hospital, M treatment to us. Due to severe injuries r treatment, where I am under treatment Singh Sarpanch son of Jag Singh, Kulvir f Gurmeet Singh, Gurwinder Singh alias son of Sukhdev Singh, residents of Raipu ent of Makha. The motive is that during al Singh son of Babu Singh. Because o with each other and have inflicted injurie statement, the same has been read out t nd hand and pistol in the other hand and ith , who was holding iron pipe fitted with h, resident of Raipur, who was empty pty rpanch raised LALKARA that during the the on. ingh, so they should be taught a lesson. blow of rifle held by him in my stomach. ch. n. In the meantime Kulvir Singh gave a e a the I stepped back and the blow fell on the ss. e No. PB 31N 2928 suffered huge loss. , held in his hand, towards my father her to save himself. The blow hit on his left eft of et up then Rachhpal Singh gave blow of ded on the back of my head. Then I fell fell lias Babbu gave blow of iron pipe fitted ted ve . Thereafter Raju Singh Sarpanch gave neet Singh son of Baltej Singh, resident ent gave fist and kick blows to me and my my as v Singh, resident of Raipur, who was the nd my father. I and my father raised the our RAULA Nimral Singh son of Babu bu esident of Raipur, came on the spot. In . In eir he spot, in their vehicle alongwith their ranged for the vehicle and got me and nd tal, Mansa for treatment. There Doctor tor tal, ries I was referred to AIIMS Hospital, en ment. Legal action may kindly be taken ulvir Singh son of Raju Singh, Rachhpal pal alias Babbu Singh son of Bogha Singh, gh, ltej Raipur and Ravneet Singh son of Baltej ring the PANCHAYAT elections we had ad se of this reason they have acted in in ot njuries after intercepting us. I have got out to me and is correct.” 4. Counsel f unsel for the petitioner on instructions, subm eady s, submits that gun and licence are already deposited in the in the gun house and he undertakes that h g the that he will not claim it back during the pendency of the of the trial without the permission of the il by the trial Court. He prays for bail by imposing any str any stringent conditions and contends that ause s that pre-trial incarceration would cause an irreversible in ible injustice to the petitioner and their fam ir family. 5. 6. The State e State’s counsel opposes bail and refers to t ers to the reply. It would ould be appropriate to refer to the followin read ollowing portions of the reply, which read as follows: “THE E HE EVIDENCE AGAINST THE PETITI ETITIONER (A) basis of petitioner From the statement of injured/compla sis of video footage clip of the occurren titioner in the occurrence was duly establis the omplainant Gursewak Singh and on the ccurrence, role and participation of the f the ghtly stablished, as such, petitioner was rightly Jyoti 2025.07.08 09:43 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document 2 CRM-M-2515 named as 25158-2025 med as accused in the present case/FIR. THE RO E ROLE OF THE PETITIONER. (A) From the statement of injured/compla the omplainant Gursewak Singh and on the basis of sis of video footage clip of the occurrence cord rrence, it was well established on record that earl at earlier during the Panchayat elections, the ctions, injured party had supported the opposite posite party of the petitioner i.e. Nirmal S ll the mal Singh, as such, in order to fulfill the grudge, P udge, Petitioner along with his companions party anions had attacked the complainant party and infli d inflicted several injuries, out of which so ed to ich some of the injuries were declared to be grievo grievous in nature. As such, present case/FI t the case/FIR was rightly registered against the accused cused persons including the petitioner. In ation er. In order to complete the investigation proceedi oceedings, custodial interrogation of the p . In f the petitioner is required to the IO. In case, pet se, petitioner is granted with the concession es of ession of regular bail there are chances of abscondi sconding of the petitioner from the trial of t esses ial of the case, winning over the witnesses of prosec prosecution and tampering with the prosec ioner prosecution evidence. As such, petitioner does not es not deserve the relief of anticipatory bail from ry bail or any other alternative relief from this Hon is Hon'ble Court.” REASONING: ING:- 7. Given th ven the nature of the injury attributed to d for ed to the petitioner, role, no ground for denial of bail is m ail is made out. 8. Pre-trial trial incarceration should not be a replica . The eplica of post-conviction sentencing. The evidence might
Legal Reasoning
ight be prima facie sufficient to launch p , but nch prosecution or to frame charges, but this Court is not is not considering the evidence at that stag ge of at stage but is analyzing it for the stage of anticipatory bail ry bail. An analysis of the above does not ju - not justify custodial interrogation or pre- trial incarceratio eration. 9. Given th ven the above, the penal provisions invo facie s invoked coupled with the primafacie analysis of the n f the nature of allegations, role attributed this and the other factors peculiar to this case, there wou e would be no justifiability for custod trial custodial interrogation or the pre-trial incarceration at t ion at this stage. 10. Without thout commenting on the case's merits, in t uliar ts, in the facts and circumstances peculiar to this case, and e, and for the reasons mentioned above, the e, the petitioner makes a case for bail. ONS: CONDITIONS: 11. Given ab ven above, provided the petitioner is not , the is not required in any other case, the petitioner shall b shall be released on bail in the FIR captione onds ptioned above subject to furnishing bonds to the satisfactio sfaction of the Arresting Officer, and if the the if the matter is before a Court, then the Jyoti 2025.07.08 09:43 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document 3 CRM-M-2515 concerned Cour 25158-2025 Court and due to unavailability before /duty efore any nearest Ilaqa Magistrate/duty Magistrate. Befo . Before accepting the surety, the concern sfied oncerned Officer/Court must be satisfied that if the accuse accused fails to appear, such surety can prod an produce the accused. 12. While fu hile furnishing a personal bond, the petit wing e petitioner shall mention the following personal identific entification details: AADHAR number 1. AA Passport number (If available) and 2. Pas attesting officer/court considers it appr atte considers the accused a flight risk. con Mobile number (If available) 3. Mo 4. E- -Mail id (If available) and when the it appropriate or 13. This orde is order is subject to the petitioner’s compl . The complying with the following terms. The petitioner shall a shall abide by all statutory bond condition rned nditions and appear before the concerned Court(s) on all n all dates. The petitioner shall not tam ence, ot tamper with the evidence, influence, browbeat, pressu pressurize, induce, threaten, or promise, d sses, ise, directly or indirectly, any witnesses, Police officials, icials, or any other person acquainted with f the d with the facts and circumstances of the case or dissuade suade them from disclosing such facts to th s to the Police or the Court. 14. The petit petitioner is directed to join the investiga ing stigation within seven days of uploading this order on the n the official webpage of the High Court nd ourt of Punjab and Haryana and as and when called by t by the Investigator. The petitioner shall b n 27 shall be in deemed custody for Section 27 of the Indian Ev ian Evidence Act, 1872/ Section 23 of BSA n the f BSA, 2023. The petitioner shall join the investigation as on as and when called by the Investigating r and gating Officer or any Superior Officer and shall cooperate erate with the investigation at all further nt of rther stages as required. In the event of failure to do so, do so, the prosecution will be open to seek uring o seeking cancellation of the bail. During the investigation gation, the petitioner shall not be subjected age, jected to third-degree, indecent language, inhuman treatme reatment, etc. 15. Given th ven the nature of the allegations and the o this the other circumstances peculiar to this case, the petition petitioner shall not enter the property, work ictim y, workplace, and residence of the victim until the stateme tatements of all non-official and informal rded. ormal witnesses in the trial are recorded. This Court is i rt is imposing this condition to rule ou d to le out any attempt by the accused to incapacitate, inf te, influence, or cause any discomfort to e to ort to the victim. Reference be made to Vikram Singh v ngh v Central Bureau of Investigation, 201 arna n, 2018 All SCR (Crl.) 458); and Aparna Bhatt v. The Stat he State of Madhya Pradesh, 2021:INSC:192 SC:192, 2021 SCC Online SC 230. 16. Given the ven the background of allegations against th ount ainst the petitioner, it becomes paramount to protect the m the members of society, and incapacitating f the citating the accused would be one of the primary options ptions until the filing of the closure ittal. sure report or discharge, or acquittal. Consequently, it ntly, it would be appropriate to restrict [This strict the possession of firearms. [This Jyoti 2025.07.08 09:43 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document 4 CRM-M-2515 restriction is bei 25158-2025 is being imposed based on the prepondera bility onderance of the evidence of probability and not of evide evidence of certainty, i.e., beyond a reason ot to reasonable doubt; and as such, it is not to be construed as ed as an intermediate sanction]. Given th d the ven the nature of the allegations and the other circumstan umstances peculiar to this case, the petit ons, etitioner shall surrender all weapons, firearms, and am nd ammunition, if any, along with the arm ority e arms license to the concerned authority within fifteen da een days and inform the Investigator of th ct to r of the compliance. However, subject to the Indian Arms Arms Act, 1959, the petitioner shall be en m in be entitled to renew and reclaim them in case of acquittal quittal in this case, provided otherwise per ules. se permissible under the concerned rules. Restricting firear firearms would instill confidence in the v iety; the victim(s), their families, and society; it would also re also restrain the accused from influencin the uencing the witnesses and repeating the offense. 17. The cond e conditions mentioned above imposed by form ed by this court are to endeavor to reform and ensure the ac the accused does not repeat the offense. In NCT se. In Mohammed Zubair v. State of NCT of Delhi, 2022:I 2022:INSC:735 [Para 28], Writ Petition (C a 29, ion (Criminal) No 279 of 2022, Para 29, decided on July n July 20, 2022, A Three-Judge bench of that ch of Hon’ble Supreme Court holds that “The bail conditi conditions imposed by the Court must not o that t not only have a nexus to the purpose that they seek to serv to serve but must also be proportional to t The al to the purpose of imposing them. The courts, while im ile imposing bail conditions must balance d the alance the liberty of the accused and the necessity of a fa of a fair trial. While doing so, conditions tha on of ons that would result in the deprivation of rights and liberti liberties must be eschewed.” 18. In case case the Investigator/Officer-In-Charge ation harge of the concerned Police Station arraigns another nother section of any penal offense in ction se in this FIR, and if the new section prescribes a max a maximum sentence that is not greater t ove, eater than the sections mentioned above, then this bail o bail order shall be deemed to have also dded also been passed for the newly added section(s). Howe However, suppose the newly inserted secti ding d sections prescribe a sentence exceeding the maximum se um sentence prescribed in the sections men , the s mentioned above; then, in that case, the Investigator/Offi or/Officer-In-Charge shall give the petition even etitioner notice of a minimum of seven days, providing a iding an opportunity to avail the remedies a dies available in law. 19. It is clari s clarified that if the petitioner violates any r the es any bail condition, the State and/or the victim may file y file an application for bail cancellation b ll be tion before the trial court, which shall be competent to can to cancel the bail or add more conditions. F oves tions. Furthermore, if the petitioner moves for deletion or di n or dilution of any bail conditions, the trial e trial court is empowered to do so. 20. This bail bail is conditional, and the foundationa ner tional condition is that if the petitioner indulges in any any non-bailable offense, the State may ion may file an application for cancellation of this bail befor before the Sessions Court, which shall ha ll have the liberty to cancel this bail. 21. Any obse y observation made hereinabove is neithe the neither an expression of opinion on the Jyoti 2025.07.08 09:43 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document 5 CRM-M-2515 case's merits nor 25158-2025 its nor shall the trial Court advert to these co hese comments. 22. A certifie certified copy of this order would not be ne any t be needed for furnishing bonds, and any Advocate for th for the Petitioner can download this orde the is order along with case status from the official web page b page of this Court and attest it to be a tru ants e a true copy. If the attesting officer wants to verify its au its authenticity, such an officer can also may n also verify its authenticity and may download and us and use the downloaded copy for attesting b sting bonds. 23. Petition stand disposed o tition allowed in terms mentioned above osed of. any, above. All pending applications, if any, (ANOOP CHITKARA) JUDGE 03.07.2025 Jyoti-IV Whether speaking/reasoned: Yes No. Whether reportable: Jyoti 2025.07.08 09:43 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document 6