Sidhu Moosewala Murder Case | Trial with 180 witnesses likely to take time: Supreme Court grants Bail to Pawan Bishnoi, Jagtar Singh

On Thursday, the Supreme Court granted bail to two accused in the 2022 murder case of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala, offering relief to Pawan Kumar Bishnoi and Jagtar Singh, who had been in custody for several years. A Bench comprising Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta passed the order while hearing their challenge to the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s earlier refusal of bail, signalling that prolonged incarceration without trial progress can weigh heavily in bail considerations.

The accused had approached the Apex Court after the Punjab and Haryana High Court declined to release them on bail, noting that it would be appropriate to wait until the statements of key eyewitnesses were recorded. Before the Top Court, counsel appearing for Pawan Bishnoi argued that he had been implicated primarily due to the similarity of his surname with that of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi and that there was no substantive link between them.

The Counsel also submitted that his alleged involvement rested largely on a confessional statement made during custody in another criminal case, in which he was subsequently discharged. The defence further disputed the allegation that he arranged the vehicle allegedly used in the crime, pointing out that no recovery supported this claim. Meanwhile, Jagtar Singh’s counsel maintained that he was merely a neighbour and had no role in facilitating any reconnaissance connected with the killing.

After hearing submissions from both sides, the Bench noted the length of custody and the scale of the trial ahead, which involves a large number of prosecution witnesses. The Court ultimately found it appropriate to extend relief, observing that continued incarceration pending a lengthy trial would be unwarranted at this stage. Accordingly, the Bench recorded that it “deemed it fit to grant the accused bail,” setting aside the earlier refusal of bail by the High Court.

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