HC holds 2 cops guilty of contempt for arresting person granted bail

Saurabh Malik

Chandigarh, March 18

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has rapped a former Superintendent of Police, Kurukshetra, for defending two police officials, who apparently disobeyed and violated judicial orders wilfully by arresting a person granted bail. Justice Arvind Singh Sangwan of the HC also held the police officials guilty under the provisions of the Contempt of Courts Act before directing them to remain present in person before the Bench for the pronouncement of sentence.

Taking up the matter, Justice Sangwan asserted the petitioner and his parents were named as accused in an FIR registered in November 2013 for subjecting a married woman to cruelty and other offences under Sections 498-A, 406, 506 and 34 of the IPC at the Ladwa police station in Kurukshetra district on his wife’s complaint.

Stand deprecated

The affidavit filed by the then Kurukshetra SP defending the two police officials is not appreciated as on coming to know the fact. He should have immediately initiated disciplinary proceedings against them. —Justice Arvind Singh Sangwan

The petitioner, working in Ireland, was declared a proclaimed offender in July 2015 by the illaqa magistrate. His parents, after facing full-length trial, were on the other hand acquitted by the trial court in January 2017.

The petitioner was subsequently granted bail upon returning to India after he filed a petition for quashing the FIR and the order declaring him a proclaimed offender. The order was subject to depositing costs with Rohtak PGIMS and furnishing bail/surety bonds.

Referring to a court order, Justice Sangwan asserted it showed after the petitioner appeared before the illaqa magistrate, the case file was summoned and a notice given to the public prosecutor, which was notice to the police station concerned.

In his detailed order, Justice Sangwan took note of the petitioner’s allegations of wilful defiance of the HC order granting bail on depositing the costs and another order passed by the illaqa magistrate, admitting him to regular bail. He alleged head constable Mahender Singh and sub-inspector Dalbir Singh posted in “PO staff” at the Pipli police station arrested him.

Justice Sangwan added the explanation given by the then SP that the petitioner did not show the court orders was unbelievable. No person of ordinary prudence would like to go to judicial or police custody when he had already been granted bail. The action on the part of the two officials was apparently in wilful disobedience and violation of the orders passed by the HC and the illaqa magistrate.