133 THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH Date of Decision: 06.11.2025 Varun Singh ..... Petitioner Versus State of Punjab ....Respondent CORAM : HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE RAJESH BHARDWAJ Present: Mr. K.S. Nalwa, Senior Advocate with Mr. Vismaad S. Bajwa, Advocate, Ms. Ashima Attri, Advocate and Mr. Ashmeet K. Shah, Advocate for the petitioner.

RAJESH BHARDWAJ, J.

1. Present petition has been filed for quashing of impugned order dated 03.10.2025, wherein learned Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Rupnagar has accepted the application filed under Section 311 Cr.P.C. dated 07.05.2025 filed by the prosecution seeking summoning of three additional prosecution witnesses in case FIR No.16 dated 22.03.2024 under Sections 380, 457 of IPC (Section 120-B and 201 IPC added lateron) registered at Police Station Sadar Rupnagar, District Rupnagar.

2. Succinctly the facts of the case are that the FIR in the present case was lodged on the statement of Sukhwinder Singh, Chief Chemists GGSSTP, Rupnagar. It was alleged that on 18.03.2024 at about 9:00 am the coal lab staff found all locks of the main door and strong room in broken condition. All the three locks of Almirah containing the 16 No. samples were also found to be in broken condition. The samples were kept in joint custody in locked almirah in strong room at coal testing Lab GGSSTP for onward submission to independent coal testing lab CSIR -Dhanabad. It was alleged that attempt was made to tamper with these 16 No. samples. It was alleged that the coal samples locked jointly in a cold testing laboratory were of great significance and huge financial stakes (in crores) are involved on the test results of theses samples and thus, the safety of these samples holds upmost importance. The CCTV recording and one CCTV camera (TP link make) were also found stolen with an intention to misplace the record of testing of samples. Thus, the request was made to register the FIR and take legal action. On registration of the FIR, the investigation commenced. On completion of investigation, challan was presented and on framing of the charges, the trial commenced. During the trial, the prosecution filed an application under Section 311 Cr.P.C. for summoning the prosecution witnesses namely:-

(i) Navin Lohia (Deputy Chief Chemist) ii) Manish Bhatara (Senior Chemist) and iii) Ravinder Khanna (Deputy Chief Engineer)

Learned trial Court on hearing both the sides accepted the same vide impugned order dated 03.10.2025. Hence aggrieved, the petitioner, who is one of the accused in the case, has approached this Court impugning the same.

2. It has been contended by learned counsel for the petitioner that in December, 2023 the petitioner joined Quality Services and Solutions Pvt. Ltd. (QSS), a company dealing in coal sample monitoring and was employed at the Noida Office of the company. He was appointed as Assistant General Manager (Operations) at Noida Branch w.e.f. 19.12.2023. The employer company of the petitioner i.e. QSS being in the business of coal sample monitoring, was hired by M/s MDCWL Ltd.

(Monnet Group) who was in contract with PSPCL for supply of coal. The services of the company of the petitioner was hired for representing M/s MDCWL Ltd. before PSPCL w.e.f. 15.02.2024 for witnessing the sampling process of the coal. The petitioner was working from home, as per the instructions of the Company. He submits that the petitioner was informed that the process of coal sampling and its sealing would be conducted on 19.03.2024. As per the prosecution version, the officials of GGSSTP started their duty at around 9:00 am on 18.03.2024 and they found the locks of the main door and strong room of the lab in a broken condition. He submits that it has come on the record that the complaint dated 18.03.2024 was received at the Police Station on 22.03.2024. On 19.03.2024, the process of making samples of the coal were to be forwarded to CSIR, Dhanbad and was to be conducted in the lab of GGSSTP in the presence of t