Punjab and Haryana High Court raps Chandigarh police for failure to arrest accused in fraud case

Tribune News Service

Saurabh Malik

Chandigarh, September 26

In a major embarrassment for the Chandigarh police, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has rapped them for a complete lapse after noticing that an accused had not been arrested despite the dismissal of his earlier bail plea more than a year ago.

Bail plea rejected a year ago

It’s a complete lapse on part of the police, as the first bail plea by the petitioner was dismissed on June 1, 2022, and till date he has not been arrested. High Court

“This court finds a complete lapse on the part of the police, as the first bail petition preferred by the petitioner had been dismissed on merits vide order dated June 1, 2022, passed by this court and till date he has not been arrested,” the Bench asserted, while taking up the third bail plea filed by the accused.

The petitioner had moved the court seeking anticipatory bail in a case registered on May 13, 2022, for cheating and other offences under Sections 420, 406 and 120-B of the IPC at Sector 34 police station.

Before parting with the case, the court directed the petitioner to join the investigation. The Bench also made it clear that the petitioner would be released on interim bail to the satisfaction of the investigating officer/arresting officer, if he was sought to be arrested.

The order was subject to the bail conditions envisaged in Section 438(2) of the CrPC. The Bench also ruled that the anticipatory bail, granted while exercising the judicial discretion, would not operate as an inroad into the statutory investigational power of the police.

His counsel during the hearing of the previous plea had among other things submitted that the petitioner was a taxi driver and had allegedly taken a car on rent on contractual basis. The vehicle had already been recovered. Nothing further was to be recovered from him.