2023 Supreme(P&H) 2398
IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH
JASJIT SINGH BEDI, J.
Surjit Singh – Petitioner
Versus
State of Punjab – Respondent
CRM-M-45682 of 2022 (O&M)
Decided On : 31-07-2023
Advocates Appeared:
Mr. P.S. Ahluwalia, Advocate; For the Petitioner
Ms. Ramta K Chaudhary, DAG, Punjab.
Mr. Veneet Sharma, Advocate for the complainant.
Headnote:(A) Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 - Section 439 - FIR No. 58 dated 17.05.2021 - Regular bail sought in a case involving multiple serious charges including murder and violation of the SC/ST Act. - The petitioner's side claims to have acted in self-defense during a mutual fight over land disputes. - Findings reveal inconsistencies in the prosecution's allegations, with injuries substantiated on both sides and no recovery of weapons from the petitioner. The court notes the lack of examination of prosecution witnesses and the petitioner's status as a first-time offender. (Paras 1-10)
(B) Legal Principles - In cases of mutual combat, the aggressor must be identified; the mere presence of a large number of individuals with weapons does not automatically infer guilt. Additionally, the operational delay in trials may justify bail.
(C) Decisions from similar cases where both sides have received injuries suggest that pre-trial detention may be unwarranted. (Paras 9, 10)
Facts of the case:
The petition arises from a case of a mutual fight between two parties over a land dispute, resulting in serious injuries on both sides, leading to multiple FIRs against a total of 16 individuals. Bail was sought due to the protracted duration of detention since 22.05.2021 without the examination of any prosecution witnesses.
Findings of Court:
Despite the petitioner being the main accused, the court identified the situation as one of mutual aggression with lack of clear evidence, which favors the grant of bail. The petitioner is to pay Rs.3,00,000/- towards the medical expenses of the complainant's party.
Issues: The primary issues include the determination of aggressor side in the mutual fight and whether the petitioner deserves bail considering the lengthy delay in the trial.
Ratio Decidendi: The court reasoned that without clear evidence to suggest the petitioner's guilt and considering the legal principle that both sides must be responsible for their actions during mutual combat, bail was rightly granted. Quantifying where specific roles were attributed would clarify accountability, which is yet to be evaluated in the trial.
Result: Bail granted subject to certain conditions.
| Table of Content |
|---|
| 1. case details and allegations against parties. (Para 1 , 2 , 3) |
| 2. arguments regarding culpability and bail. (Para 4 , 5 , 6 , 7) |
| 3. court analysis of evidence and situation. (Para 8 , 9 , 10) |
| 4. court grants bail based on circumstances. (Para 11) |
| 5. conditions set for bail and concluding remarks. (Para 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16) |
JUDGMENT
Mr. Jasjit Singh Bedi, J.
The prayer in the present petition under Section 439 Cr.P.C. is for the grant of regular bail in case bearing FIR No.58 dated 17.05.2021 (Annexure P-1) registered under Sections 302 , 307, 326, 323, 324, 427, 148, 149 IPC, 1860, Sections 25 /27/54/59 of the ARMS ACT , 1959 and Sections 3(1)(r) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities Act, 1989) at Police Station Sadar Patti, District Tarn Taran.
2. The present case came to be registered on the basis of a Ruqa sent by SI Nirmal Singh wherein it was alleged that a mutual fight had taken place between two parties i.e. Dhara Singh and Charanjit Singh. It was alleged that both the sides had attacked each and other and had received injuries in the occurrence. The relevant translated version of the FIR is reproduced hereinbelow:-
"SHO P.S. Sadar Patti, Jai Hind, Yesterday, on 16.05.2021 at around 05:30 p.m., I/SI along with ASI Baldev Singh 1809, ASI Jinder Singh 904, HC Baldev Singh 479, CT Navkarandeep Singh 753, PHG Dalbir Singh 4033, PHG Jaswinder Singh 4078 on official vehicle No. PB 46 W 1812 being driven by driver HC Harbhajan Singh 197 were present at Chowk Chuslewad in the P.S. jurisdiction in connection with gashat when I had received information through Control Room that there is land dispute in Village Cheema Kalan between Dhara Singh S/o Tarlok Singh and Charan Singh S/o Dayal Singh party. Dhara Singh S/o Tarlok Singh's party is trying to plough the land and Charan Singh's party is trying to stop ploughing and a mutual fight is taking place between both of these parties and bullets are being fired from both sides. On receiving this information, I/SI along with colleagues had reached Village Cheema Kalan where Dhara Singh S/o Tarlok Singh and his sons Salwinder Singh, Jugraj Singh, Angrej Singh and other 25-30 unknown persons who were armed with guns, pistols, swords and other sharp-edged weapons and Rashpal Singh S/o Pritam Singh Jatt R/o Cheema Kalan were ploughing the land with his tractor Mahindra color red and the second party Charan Singh S/o Dayal Singh and along with them his sons Surjit Singh, Ranjit Singh and Charan Singh's brother Dilbagh Singh, Gandhi Singh, Sarwan Singh, Dharam Singh, Jagjit Singh, Paramjit Singh and other 10-12 unknown persons who were armed with 12 bore guns, pistols, swords and sharp-edged weapons, who were mutually fighting regarding ploughing the land and stopping from ploughing the land and bullets were being fired on each other. When the police party had reached the spot then the persons of both of these parties along with their respective weapons had sped away from the spot. The persons of both parties have got injured due to being hit with bullets and for incurring injuries with sharp-edged weapons, whom, their relatives had arranged for the conveyances and had taken them to different hospitals for treatment. In front of me Dhara Singh, Salwinder Singh residents of Cheema Kalan and Kulwinder Singh S/o Harbhajan Singh R/o Fatehgarh Sabhra were having injury marks and blood was oozing out and the second party's Surjit Singh, Sarwan Singh, Jagjit Singh, Paramjit Singh and Baljit Singh had injury marks and blood was oozing out. Today, on 17.05.2021, I/SI along with ASI Darshan Singh 1522, ASI Baldev Singh 1809, HC Baldev Singh 479, CT Gurpreet Singh 1544, PHG Dalbir Singh 4033 had reached Amandeep Hospital, Amritsar for taking down the statement of injured Dhara Singh, Salwinder Singh and Kulwinder Singh, where three written applications were given to the doctor for taking his opinion about their being fit or unfit for giving statement whe
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