228 IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH Date of decision: 01.05.2025 Manish alias Ankit ....Petitioner Versus State of Haryana ...Respondent CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE HARPREET SINGH BRAR Present: Ms. Kashish Sahni, Advocate for the petitioner.

Mr. Vikas Bhardwaj, AAG, Haryana.

HARPREET SINGH BRAR, J. (ORAL)

The present petition has been filed under Section 483 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 seeking regular bail in case bearing FIR No.140 dated 20.04.2024 under Section 346 of IPC (Sections 120-B/201/302 of IPC added later on) registered at Police Station Ambala City, District Ambala (Annexure P-1).

Summarily, the facts of the case are that on 18.04.2024, the son of the complainant, namely, Digvijay Singh @ Robin was missing from 11:30 A.M. It is further alleged that Digvijay Singh was with his friend Lalli and was having car of the complainant. Thereafter, the FIR was registered and investigation was conducted and later, dead body of Digvijay Singh was found.

Learned counsel for the petitioner inter alia contends that as per the case set up by the prosecution, the deceased was found missing on 18.04.2024 and he was last seen with his friend, namely, Lalli and in two days thereafter, FIR (supra) was registered. On 27.04.2024, a SIT was constituted and the friend of the deceased who was last seen in his company was joined in the investigation and during his disclosure, it transpired that the petitioner gave an intoxicating substance to the deceased and co-accused, thereafter, the deceased and co-accused, namely, Gurwinder Singh @ Lalli went away to consume the same. It is further revealed in the disclosure statement that co- accused, Gurwinder Singh @ Lalli, in order to keep the car of the deceased, made him consumed huge quantity of drugs and after consuming the same, he became unconscious and co-accused, Gurwinder Singh @ Lalli strangulated him with wire and threw his body in the bushes alongside SYL Canal. Pursuant to the alleged disclosure statement of the co-accused, Gurwinder Singh @ Lalli, the dead body of the deceased recovered and accordingly, offence under Sections 302/201 of IPC was added in the FIR (supra). The petitioner has been falsely implicated in the present case with the aid of Section 120-B of IPC. There is no concrete evidence to connect the petitioner with the murder of the deceased. No overt act was attributed to the petitioner in the first disclosure statement of the co-accused, Gurwinder Singh @ Lalli and later on, the petitioner is alleged to have conspired with the co-accused by providing intoxicating substance. Apart from the disclosure statement made by the co- accused during his custodial interrogation, there is no other evidence available on record to connect the petitioner with the alleged offence. The petitioner is behind the bars for the last 11 months and 28 days and till date, out of 25 prosecution witnesses, none has been examined so far.

The learned State counsel has filed custody certificate in the Court today which is taken on record and per contra, opposes the grant of regular bail to the petitioner on the ground that the petitioner has actively participated and he has conspired together with the main accused, Gurwinder Singh @ Lalli to illegally retain the car of the deceased and he is also involved in one more case under Section 379-A of IPC.

A two Judge Bench of Hon’ble Supreme Court in ‘Satender Kumar Antil v. CBI’ (2022) 10 SCC 51, with respect to prevailing conditions of undertrial prisoner in India has observed:

“6. Jails in India are flooded with undertrial prisoners. The statistics placed before us would indicate that more than 2/3rd of the inmates of the prisons constitute undertrial prisoners. Of this category of prisoners, majority may not even be required to be arrested despite registration of a cognizable offence, being charged with offences punishable for seven years or less. They are not only poor and illiterate but also would include women. Thus, th