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Punjab-Haryana High Court
Gurjant Singh @ Janta vs State Of Punjab on 24 April, 2026
CRM-M-12768-2026 (O&M)
1
IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB & HARYANA AT
CHANDIGARH
212 CRM-M-12768-2026 (O&M)
Decided on : 24.04.2026
Gurjant Singh @Janta
..... Petitioner
VERSUS
State of Punjab
..... Respondent
CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SURYA PARTAP SINGH
Present: Ms. G.K. Mann, Sr. Advocate with
Ms. Chandrika, Advocate,
Ms. Shruti, Advocate and
Mr. Anmol Jeevan Singh Gill, Advocate
for the petitioner.
*****
SURYA PARTAP SINGH, J. (Oral)
This petition is the first petition for bail, filed by the petitioner
under Section 483 of 'the Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita', 2023. It has
been filed with regard to a case arising out of FIR No.99 dated 31.05.2024,
for the commission of offence punishable under Sections 103, 109, 3(5) and
Section 61 of
, Police Station Ajnala, District Amritsar Rural.
2. The FIR of this case came into being at the instance of
'Janakbir Singh' hereinafter being referred to as 'complainant' only. It was
stated by the abovenamed complainant that on 31.05.2024, he along with his
son namely Deepinder Singh (the deceased), Major Singh, Swaran Singh,
Kunnan Singh, Sandeep Singh, Sukhcharanjit Singh and Harpal Singh was
sitting on chairs outside his house. As per complainant at about 07:45/08:00
CRM-M-12768-2026 (O&M)
P.M., two persons riding on a motorcycle came and one of them opened fire
and killed his son 'Deepinder Singh'.
3. It is the case of the prosecution that in view of abovementioned
statement, formal FIR of this case was lodged and the investigation taken up.
4. According to prosecution in the abovementioned offence, the
role attributed to the petitioner is that he participated in the commission of
abovementioned offence by conniving with Harman Singh, Jobanjeet Singh
@Billa, Balwinder Singh @Dony, Varinder Singh @Joban and Gagandeep
Singh @Doddy. As per prosecution during the course of investigation on the
basis of secret information, the petitioner was arrested and on interrogation
he had suffered a disclosure statement that he was involved in the
commission of abovementioned offence.
5. Custody Certificate has been filed by learned State Counsel.
The same be taken on record. No formal reply has been filed by the State.
However, the learned State Counsel has orally opposed the present petition.
6. Heard.
7. The record has been perused carefully.
8. In 'Tofan Singh Vs. State of Tamil Nadu', 2021(4) SCC 1 also,
it has been observed by the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India that
confessional statement of accused recorded under Section 67 of NDPS Act
cannot be admitted in evidence, as a confession.
9. A perusal of record shows that in the present case, following are
the relevant factors which are required to be taken into consideration for a
decision:-
CRM-M-12768-2026 (O&M)
i. that there is no allegation against the petitioner that he
had participated in the event of firing gunshots. The only
allegation against the petitioner is that he had helped the
prime accused by giving them information after the
reconnaissance;
ii. that the only evidence collected by the Investigating
Agency against the petitioner, is his own confessional
statement. The abovesaid statement was recorded when
the petitioner himself was in custody. Thus, there is a
question mark with regard to credibility & admissibility
of above-mentioned statement in evidence. Since
pursuant to above-mentioned confessional statement no
recovery of incriminating material or discovery of fact
has taken place, prima facie the abovementioned
statement appears to be hit by Section-23 of Bharatiya
Sakshya Adhiniyam;
iii. that the petitioner is already in custody for a period of
nine months and twenty nine days;
iv. that the co-accused of the petitioner, namely Gurwinder
Singh @Sunny, Jarnail @Jaila, Sukhdeep @Sukh,
Satyavaranjit, have already been accorded the benefit of
bail;
v. that the investigation in this case is already complete and
therefore, nothing has been left to be recovered from the
possession of petitioner;
vi. that the trial is not likely to be concluded in near future;
vii. that the detention of petitioner in judicial lock-up is not
likely to serve any purpose;
viii. that there is nothing on record to show that if released on
bail, the petitioner may tamper with the evidence or
influence the witnesses; and
ix. that there is nothing on record to show that if released on
bail, the petitioner will not participate/cooperate in the
trial.
CRM-M-12768-2026 (O&M)
10. In the present case, the principles of law laid down by the
Hon'ble Supreme Court of India in the case of "Dataram versus State of
Uttar Pradesh and another", 2018(2) R.C.R. (Criminal) 131, are relevant,
wherein it has been observed that "a fundamental postulate of criminal
jurisprudence is the presumption of innocence, meaning thereby that a
person is believed to be innocent until found guilty. However, there are
instances in our criminal law where a reverse onus has been placed on an
accused with regard to some specific offences but that is another matter and
does not detract from the fundamental postulate in respect of other offences.
Yet another important facet of our criminal jurisprudence is that the grant of
bail is the general rule and putting a person in jail or in a prison or in a
correction home (whichever expression one may wish to use) is an
exception. Unfortunately, some of these basic principles appear to have been
lost sight of with the result that more and more persons are being
incarcerated and for longer periods. This does not do any good to our
criminal jurisprudence or to our society. There is no doubt that the grant or
denial of bail is entirely the discretion of the judge considering a case but
even so, the exercise of judicial discretion has been circumscribed by a large
number of decisions rendered by this Court and by every High Court in the
country. Yet, occasionally there is a necessity to introspect whether denying
bail to an accused person is the right thing to do on the facts and in the
circumstances of a case".
11. The principles laid down by the Hon'ble the Supreme Court of
India in the case of 'Satender Kumar Antil Vs. Central Bureau of
Investigation and Another', (2022) 10 SCC 51, are also relevant in this case.
CRM-M-12768-2026 (O&M)
In the abovementioned case, it has been observed that "the rate of conviction
in criminal cases in India is abysmally low. It appears to us that this factor
weighs on the mind of the Court while deciding the bail applications in a
negative sense. Courts tend to think that the possibility of a conviction being
nearer to rarity, bail applications will have to be decided strictly, contrary to
legal principles. We cannot mix up consideration of a bail application, which
is not punitive in nature with that of a possible adjudication by way of trial.
On the contrary, an ultimate acquittal with continued custody would be a
case of grave injustice".
12. Recently, in the case of 'Tapas Kumar Palit Vs. State of
Chhattisgarh', 2025 SCC Online SC 322, the Hon'ble Supreme Court of
India has observed that "if an accused is to get a final verdict after
incarceration of six to seven years in jail as an undertrial prisoner, then,
definitely, it could be said that his right to have a speedy trial under Article
21 of the Constitution has been infringed". It has also been observed by the
Hon'ble Supreme Court of India in the abovementioned case that "delays are
bad for the accused and extremely bad for the victims, for Indian society and
for the credibility of our justice system, which is valued. Judges are the
masters of their Courtrooms and the Criminal Procedure Code provides
many tools for the Judges to use in order to ensure that cases proceed
efficiently".
13. To elucidate further, this Court is conscious of the basic and
fundamental principle of law that right to speedy trial is a part of reasonable,
fair and just procedure enshrined under Article 21 of the Constitution of
India. This constitutional right cannot be denied to the accused as mandated
CRM-M-12768-2026 (O&M)
by Hon'ble Apex court in "Balwinder Singh versus State of Punjab and
Another", 2024 SCC Online SC 4354.
14. If the cumulative effect of all the abovementioned factors,
involved in the instant case, is taken into consideration, it leads to a
conclusion that the petitioner is entitled for the benefit of bail, and that the
present petition deserves to be allowed.
15. Accordingly, without commenting anything on the merits of the
case, the present petition is hereby allowed. The petitioner is hereby ordered
to be released on bail on furnishing personal bond and surety bond(s) to the
satisfaction of learned trial Court. However the abovementioned concession
shall be subject to following conditions:-
(i) that the petitioner shall not directly or indirectly make any
inducement, threat or promise to any person acquainted with
the facts of the case, so as to dissuade him to disclose such facts
to the Court or to any other authority.
(ii) that the petitioner shall at the time of execution of bond, furnish
the address to the Court concerned and shall notify the change
in address to the trial Court, till the final decision of the trial;
and
(iii) that the petitioner shall not leave India without prior permission
of the trial Court.
(SURYA PARTAP SINGH)
JUDGE
24.04.2026
Vinod
Whether speaking / reasoned Yes/No
Whether Reportable Yes/No
