7-day notice before arrest would amount to blanket bail: HC dismisses plea of SAD candidate’s daughter

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has ruled that directing the police to serve a seven-day notice before arrest would “virtually amount to granting a blanket protection from arrest in the guise of anticipatory bail,” which runs contrary to settled Supreme Court law. Justice Rupinderjit Chahal made the observation while dismissing a petition filed by Kanchanpreet Kaur, daughter of Shiromani Akali Dal candidate Sukhwinder Kaur Randhawa, who contested the Tarn Taran Assembly bye-election held on November 11.

Kanchanpreet had approached the court seeking anticipatory or blanket bail on the grounds that she apprehended false implication in non-bailable offences due to political rivalry arising from her mother’s candidature. She had prayed that in the event of any proposed action, the authorities be directed to issue a seven-day advance notice to enable her to seek legal remedies.

Rejecting the plea, the court held that such a direction would be impermissible in law and tantamount to insulating the petitioner from arrest without any specific case being registered. “In the present case, the petitioner is praying for grant of blanket/pre-arrest bail or a seven-day prior notice to be issued before effecting any arrest or taking any coercive action, so as to enable her to avail legal remedies. Law is well settled as to whether blanket bail can be granted merely on apprehension of implication in a criminal case”, Justice Chahal observed.

Before parting with the case, the Bench added: “In the facts and circumstances of the present case, directing the respondent to serve seven days’ prior notice before arrest would virtually amount to granting a blanket protection from arrest in guise of anticipatory bail, which is contrary to the law laid down by the Supreme Court. Thus, the present petition being devoid of merits is hereby dismissed,” the Bench concluded.