Judgment:
CRM No.M-8302 of 2014 -1- IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH CRM No.M-8302 of 2014 Date of Decision:- 21.04.2014 Swaran Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab .....Respondent CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE MEHINDER SINGH SULLAR Present: Mr. Arvind Thakur, Advocate, for the petitioner. Ms. Amarjit Khurana, Additional Advocate General, Punjab, for the respondent-State. **** MEHINDER SINGH SULLAR , J.(oral) Petitioner-Swaran Singh alias Shindi son of Avtar Singh, has directed the instant petition for the grant of anticipatory bail, invoking the provisions of Section 438 Cr.P.C., in a case registered against him, vide FIR No.5 dated 05.02.2014, on accusation of having committed an offence punishable under Section 61/1/14 of The Excise Act, by the police of Police Station Sadar Pathankot.
2. Notice of the petition was issued to the State.
3. After hearing the learned counsel for the parties, going through the record with their valuable assistance and after considering the Kumar Naresh 2014.04.23 14:34 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document Chandigarh CRM No.M-8302 of 2014 -2- entire matter deeply, to my mind, the present petition for anticipatory bail deserves to be accepted in this context.
4. During the course of preliminary hearing, the following order was passed by a Co-ordinate Bench of this Court (M. Jeyapaul, J.) on March 07, 2014: - “The allegation is that the petitioner was found in possession of 20 bottles of liquor. It is submitted by the learned counsel appearing for the petitioner that the petitioner does not have any other case of similar nature. Notice of motion returnable by 21.4.2014. Considering the nature of allegation as against the petitioner, interim anticipatory bail is granted in the following terms:- In the event of arrest, the petitioner shall be released on interim bail to the satisfaction of the Investigating Officer. He shall join the investigation as and when required by the Investigating Officer. He shall also comply with the conditions as envisaged under Section 438 (2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure.”. 5. At the very outset, on instructions from ASI Balraj Singh, learned State Counsel has acknowledged the relevant factual matrix and submitted that the petitioner has already joined the investigation. He is no longer required for further interrogation, at this stage. There is no history of his previous involvement in any other criminal case. Moreover, the offence alleged against the accused is triable by the Court of Magistrate. Even, since the prosecution has not yet submitted the final police report (challan) against the accused, so, the final conclusion of trial will naturally take a long time.
6. In the light of aforesaid reasons and taking into consideration the totality of facts and circumstances, emanating from the record, as discussed here-in-above, the instant petition for anticipatory bail is Kumar Naresh 2014.04.23 14:34 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document Chandigarh CRM No.M-8302 of 2014 -3- accepted. The interim bail already granted to the petitioner by this Court, by virtue of order dated March 07, 2014, is hereby made absolute, subject to the compliance of the conditions, as contemplated under Section 438 (2) Cr.P.C. Needless to mention that, in case, the petitioner does not cooperates or joins the investigation, the prosecution would be at liberty to move a petition for cancellation of his bail, in this respect. April 21, 2014 (MEHINDER SINGH SULLAR) naresh.k JUDGE Kumar Naresh 2014.04.23 14:34 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document Chandigarh