HC grants interim bail to scribe Bhawana Gupta, two others

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 9

In a major embarrassment to the Punjab Police in scribe Bhawana Gupta’s case, the Punjab and Haryana High Court today asserted that initially the arresting officer and then the judicial officers proceeded to pass orders of arrest and remand in a mechanical manner.

Granting interim bail to Bhawana and two others, Justice Augustine George Masih said apparently at no stage the provisions of the statute were actually gone into or seen. The continuance of a citizen in custody without there being a mandate of law could not be permitted.

Justice Masih asserted: “A court and that too, a constitutional court, when comes to know of the same, cannot shut its eyes to the same. Would it be appropriate to a citizen to continue in incarceration when it is not only apparent from the allegations, but an undisputed position, that petitioners Mritunjay Kumar and Parmender Singh Rawat have not committed the alleged offences that are non-bailable?”

Justice Masih said the allegations in the FIR did not make out a non-bailable offence with regard to the petitioners. As such, the officer could not have taken Kumar and Rawat in custody without making them aware that they could avail the remedy of release on the submission of bail bonds or surety. The same would be the position regarding the remand orders by the Duty Magistrate and the Special Court.

Senior advocates RS Rai and Chetan Mittal with counsel Gautam Dutt appeared before the Bench on petitioners’ behalf.

Justice Masih said: “This court grants interim bail to the two petitioners. Mritunjay Kumar and Parmender Singh Rawat are ordered to be released on interim bail to the satisfaction of the Judicial Magistrate/Duty Magistrate, Ludhiana.” The Bench also granted the respondent-state 10 days, as prayed for, to file reply to the petition for quashing of the FIR.

Fixing the case for May 22, Justice Masih added interim order passed in favour of petitioner-Bhawana stood extended till the next date of hearing.

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