Punjab and Haryana HC granted bail to mother-son duo allegedly illegally detained in cheating case

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has granted bail in an alleged fraud case in which a mother and son were allegedly illegally detained.

The court added that the appeal was postponed till October 31, considering the fact that due to Diwali, the accused was expected to be present at his home.

It was alleged that the AIG member was a relative of the complainant and that the police, hand in hand with the complainant’s family, turned the civil dispute into a criminal case.

Justice Sanjay Vashisth he said, “Prima facie, the contention raised by the petitioner’s counsel in this writ petition seems more plausible, and if this is indeed the case, the police have undoubtedly already experienced excessive harassment of the detainees. However, the same issue is still pending before the Court.”

The complaint was filed on the basis that the arrested Meena Rani, owner of M/s Manmohan Enterprises, had leased two godowns from the complainant Tejinder Kaur based in Ludhiana. Possession with the detainee is based on the adopted lease agreement of November 20, 2019, which entered into force on December 1, 2019, for a period of five years and an additional lease agreement of May 29, 2023.

The petitioner’s representative stated that the performance of the first lease agreement by the complainant was not questioned. However, the second lease agreement of May 29, 2023 was questioned by the complainant.

It was alleged that the FIR was lodged on October 24 to harass detained persons under sections 420, 465, 467, 468, 471, 120-B, 427 of the IPC.

The petitioner’s counsel also submitted that there was constant pressure from the police to hand over the original additional lease agreement dated 29/05/2023 to the police station despite repeated requests to issue a formal notice in connection with the demand for the original lease agreement. -Deed, such requests were flatly denied and no notice was ever received.

The petitioners and prisoners feared that if the lease in question was handed over to the police, it would be damaged or tampered with.

After perusing the submissions, the Tribunal asked the SHO where the complainant was and why she was not present before the Tribunal, the latter replied that the complainant – Tejinder Kaur, is a resident of the United States of America (USA) and the FIR lodged in connection with her complaints dated 04/04. 2024 and May 15, 2024

“Mr. Gurdial Singh, SI/SHO has not provided any credible and satisfactory explanation as to why the police did not take immediate action on the complaints of April 4 when the complainant’s version of the offense was already available. 2024 and May 15, 2024, when even the applicant herself was present in the Country at the relevant time,” the Court stated.

Justice Vashishth stressed that suddenly after the police filed a report before the Illaqa Magistrate, a criminal case was registered despite no immediate complaint or reminder from the complainant and her absence from the country.

The judge said, “To clarify all this, neither Dr. Dharminder Singh Lamba, DAG, Punjab, nor Mr. Gurdial Singh, SI/SHO, who is also present in the Tribunal, has provided a satisfactory explanation.”

In the light of the above, the Court, exercising its jurisdiction under Art. 528 BNSS, 2023, read with the constitutional mandate and holding that there was no allegation of involvement of the detainees in any other criminal case, the Court granted bail to the mother-son duo.

The court scheduled the case for November 25 to further investigate the substance of the allegations in the petition, and in particular the role of police officers.

“In the meantime, the Director General of Police, Punjab, may order an independent inquiry into the alleged role of the police in the case in accordance with law and, after doing so, submit a report to the Court on the next date of hearing,” the judge added.

Title: MANGAL KUMAR DAWAR V/S STATE OF PUNJAB AND ORS

Advocate, Mr. Lajwant Singh Virk, for the petitioner.

Dr. Dharminder Singh Lamba, DAG, Punjab.

Click here to read/download the order