SC upholds conviction of Punjab prison official for aiding prisoner's escape bid

Taking note of “gravity of the offence committed”, the Supreme Court has upheld the conviction and sentence of a former jail official in Punjab’s Ludhiana, who helped an undertrial prisoner escape from custody in November 2010.

“The appellant shall be taken into custody forthwith, to undergo the remaining period of imprisonment as awarded by the trial Court and affirmed by the High Court. The concerned authorities are directed to ensure the immediate execution of the sentence,” a Bench led by Justice PS Narasimha said, dismissing petitioner Gurdeep Singh’s appeal.

“If the fine amount has not yet been deposited, the same shall be recovered from the appellant in accordance with law, failing which, he shall undergo the default sentence as stipulated,” said the Bench which also included Justice R Mahadevan.

“Considering the nature and gravity of the offence committed by the appellant (Gurdeep Singh), and more so, keeping in view his position as an Assistant Superintendent of Jail – a role that demands the highest standards of integrity, responsibility and adherence to the rule of law – this Court finds no mitigating factor to warrant any leniency in sentence. The conviction and sentence imposed are commensurate with the appellant’s culpability and call for neither reduction nor interference,” the top court said, refusing to reduce his sentence, in its August 11 verdict.

Appellant Gurdeep Singh was an Assistant Superintendent of Central Jail, Ludhiana when he helped undertrial prisoner Kuldeep Singh alias Deepi being escorted by Head Constables Harjit Singh and Hardial Singh from Ludhiana to Talwandi Sabo for court proceedings in connection with criminal case by bus.

After the court proceedings, the appellant insisted on the accused being taken back by a private vehicle in which two men were already sitting. While on their way back the two men attacked and injured the head constables with knife/kirpan and the accused attempted to flee but was captured while the appellant and the two men fled. During the initial probe, Gurdeep Singh was exonerated but he was later summoned as an accused during the trial.

A Fast Track Court at Bathinda convicted all the accused, including Gurdeep Singh and sentenced them for attempt to murder, criminal conspiracy, obstructing public servants and other offences on October 31, 2014 and awarded three-year jail term. His appeal was dismissed by the High Court, along with the appeal preferred by the accused Baldev Singh alias Dev on May 4, 2023. Feeling aggrieved, Gurdeep Singh approached the top court.

Expressing its “strongest condemnation” of his conduct, the Bench said “As a public servant entrusted with safeguarding the rule of law and the custody of prisoners, he did not merely default in his duties – he actively undermined the justice system. When public functionaries betray the institutional trust, the consequences are profound and far-reaching.

“In a constitutional democracy governed by the rule of law, custodial officers must be held to the highest standards of integrity. Any deviation amounts not only to legal delinquency, but to a grave institutional and moral breach. The findings recorded by the Sessions Court and affirmed by the High Court are based on cogent reasoning and unimpeachable evidence,” it noted.

“In the present case, the prosecution has convincingly established the existence of a prior concert of action between the appellant and the assailants. The use of a private vehicle associated with the appellant, the involvement of unidentified persons, the stop at a scheduled location under a false pretext, and the appellant’s conspicuous inaction during the violent assault – despite being in a position of official authority – all form a continuous chain of incriminating circumstances that point toward his complicity in the conspiracy.

“His deliberate inaction, lack of any injuries, and subsequent disappearance from the scene further reinforce the inference of his active role. The appellant’s conduct was not peripheral but integral to the execution of the plan to facilitate the escape of the undertrial Kuldeep Singh. His behaviour before, during, and after the incident establishes his culpability under section 120B IPC,” the top court said, upholding his conviction.

“The appellant’s conduct during and after the incident is wholly inconsistent with that of a law-abiding officer. Rather, it reveals the mindset of a conspirator attempting to evade accountability. His role in arranging the vehicle, his suspicious seating position, the unauthorized presence of outsiders, his passive stance during the attack, his disappearance thereafter, and his failure to report the incident together form an unbroken chain of incriminating circumstances. The prosecution has rightly characterized the entire episode as a premeditated conspiracy, in which the appellant played a key role,” it noted.