Pre-arrest bail: Other cases count

Saurabh Malik

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Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 28

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has made it clear that an applicant for anticipatory bail is required to disclose his involvement in other criminal cases and the status thereof. Failure to do so is ground enough for the rejection of pre-arrest bail.

“Such information throws adequate light on the applicant’s antecedents, which is one of the factors to be gone into by the court to determine whether the applicant deserves anticipatory bail,” Justice Deepak Sibal said.

The ruling came on a petition filed by Gurbachan Singh and another petitioner against Punjab for grant of anticipatory bail in an FIR registered in December 2016 under the NDPS Act at Kotwali police station in Kapurthala district.

Justice Sibal said it was not difficult for him to conclude that the petitioners had not approached this court with clean hands, having suppressed material particulars.

Rejecting the plea, Justice Sibal said: “Fleeing to evade arrest is another factor which would go against the petitioners while considering their case for anticipatory bail, especially when for the past decade, they are found to be involved in several other criminal cases.”