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UAPA Bail: P&H High Court Grants Bail to Nishan Singh, No Evidence Beyond Own
The has granted to Nishan Singh, an accused under the , holding that the prosecution failed to produce any linking him to an alleged conspiracy to target-kill Hindu leaders. A Division Bench of Justice Vinod S. Bhardwaj and Justice Sukhvinder Kaur observed that the only material against Singh was his own and , with no .
Bail Granted After 3.7 Years in Custody
The appellant had been in custody since , and by the time of the bail hearing had completed three years and seven months of actual incarceration. The court noted that trial had barely begun, with only one out of 16 prosecution witnesses examined. These factors weighed heavily in favor of bail.
Court Notes Lack of
The FIR was registered on secret information alleging that gangsters associated with the banned and were planning target killings. Singh was not originally named in the FIR; he and co-accused Yuvraj Singh were arrested after a .32 bore pistol with four live cartridges and an unregistered motorcycle were recovered from them.
During interrogation, Singh purportedly disclosed a plan to murder Hindu leaders in Khanna and Mohali and a comrade leader in Jalandhar. However, the court pointed out that the recovery of the weapon preceded the
, raising questions about its
under
. The judges emphasized that
"the State has failed to refer to any evidence as would establish the link of the appellant with the alleged gangsters,"
and noted the absence of
"any financial trail or trail of weapons traced or informed."
Arguable of
The bench highlighted that the prosecution's case rested primarily on the appellant's own admissions, which may be hit by
as a
.
"There are arguable issues regarding the
of the aforesaid disclosure and as to whether the same would fall within the parameters of
or whether it would be a
of the accused while in custody and thus be hit by
,"
the order read.
Significantly, the alleged kingpin Jagdeep Singh @ Jaggu Bhagwanpuria had already been discharged by the trial court, further weakening the link between Singh and the banned organizations.
No Criminal Antecedents
The court also noted that apart from a single prison offence due to a scuffle inside jail, Singh had no other criminal antecedents. The State did not dispute the length of custody, the stage of trial, or the discharge of Bhagwanpuria.
Decision and Directions
Without commenting on the merits of the case, the High Court allowed the appeal and ordered Singh's release on bail upon furnishing requisite bonds. The court directed him not to threaten or influence prosecution witnesses.
"The observation made hereinabove shall not be construed as an expression on the merits of the case and the trial Court shall decide the case on the basis of available material,"
the judges clarified.
The ruling underscores that and the absence of beyond a suspect's own statements can tilt the scales in favor of bail, even in cases involving stringent anti-terror laws.
