The Punjab & Haryana High Court in a petition filed seeking bail in a kidnapping case pulled up officials of Punjab Police for their irresponsible and callous approach to investigation and stated that the accused should not be put to unwarranted investigation and the court stated that it cannot shut its eyes and ignore the larger interest while exercising inherent powers vested under Section 482 Cr.P.C.
Brief Facts:
The present petition was filed by the petitioner seeking regular bail in FIR registered under Sections 363, 365 of IPC, 1860 registered on the allegation that the daughter of the complainant, namely, Alisha – a minor has been allegedly kidnapped by the petitioner.
Contentions of the Applicant:
The petitioner asserted that the allegedly missing girl namely Alisha is very well living safely in the company of the complainant Deepika (mother of Alisha), who was seen near the old Court Complex, Pathankot at about 2:30 p.m. on 11.02.2023 and even thereafter on regular basis taking a ride on the pillion seat of an activa with some male member and in support thereof, he produced certain photographs and still pictures from the CCTV footage affixed in that area.
Observations of the Court:
The court considering the casual manner of investigation conducted by the SIT, and also the fact that the petitioner had been behind bars for 1 year and 2 months, in the previous hearing the Court granted regular bail to the petitioner and directed the Senior Superintendent of Police, Pathankot to explain the progress and the manner in which the investigation is being carried out.
Further, the court stated that it cannot shut its eyes and ignore the larger interest while exercising inherent powers vested under Section 482 Cr.P.C. that it is not merely a question of considering the regular bail of the petitioner, who is 20 years young boy and on the other hand a minor girl, who is less than 16 years of age and it is a question before the investigating agency and law enforcing agency of the State, to exercise all kinds of care and caution for protecting the lives and liberty of two individuals ensuring that even the petitioner should not be put to unwarranted investigation, if at all the complainant is playing smart, as there is every likelihood of such a counter by parents of a minor girl, as is circumstances involved in the instant case
The decision of the Court:
The court directed the PPS, Senior Superintendent of Police, Pathankot to ensure that the report from the FSL concerned be speeded up and an affidavit in this regard as well as the day-to-day progress of the investigation be filed before this Court on the next date of hearing.
Case Title: Aman vs State of Punjab
Coram: Hon’ble Mr. Justice Sandeep Moudgil
Case No.: CRM-M-13821-2023
Advocate for the Applicant: Mr. Jagjeet Singh
Advocate for the Respondent: Mr Anmol Singh Sandhu, Ms Abha Kashyap and Mr. Arvind Kashyap
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