HC relief for Gujarati woman stuck in Punjab

Saurabh Malik

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 14

When Mehta Kiran Mihirbhai came to Gurdaspur from Gujarat seeking anticipatory bail in a rape case, there was no way she could have realised that the lockdown would leave her stranded in Punjab. Her pre-arrest bail was rejected by Gurdaspur Additional Sessions Judge on March 20, but the lockdown was imposed before she could move the High Court against the order.

Almost two months later, the Punjab and Haryana High Court came to her rescue. Taking up her petition filed through counsel Harsh Chopra, Justice Arvind Singh Sangwan today granted interim anticipatory bail after directing her to join investigation in the matter.

“The petitioner is presently stuck in Gurdaspur district, without any money. She needs to be reunited with her family in Gujarat,” Chopra had earlier contended in the bail plea.

As the petition against the state government and other respondents came up for hearing through videoconferencing, Chopra told Justice Sangwan’s Bench that the petitioner was seeking anticipatory bail in FIR registered on October 9, 2018, for rape, kidnapping and other offences at Ghuman police station in Batala district. Chopra submitted the complainant had stated that her daughter was enticed away by accused Maninder Singh in conspiracy with other accused Paramjit Kaur and Jasbir Kaur before being taken to Gujarat. There were no allegations against the petitioner, except that they met the petitioner after Maninder Singh took the complainant’s daughter to Gujarat, where the petitioner allegedly maltreated the victim.