HC confirms interim anticipatory bail to Punjabi singer Gurdas Mann

Saurabh Malik

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 30

The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Thursday confirmed interim anticipatory bail granted to Punjabi singer Gurdas Mann in a case registered against him on August 26 for hurting religious feelings of the Sikh community.

The Bench, at the same time, granted the investigating officer the liberty to make Mann join the probe through videoconferencing as he was down with Covid.

“As no custodial interrogation of the petitioner is required, the interim bail granted on September 15 is made absolute. Let the petitioner join the investigation within five weeks from today. In meantime investigating officer may join petitioner through video conference,” Justice Avneesh Jhingan asserted.

The Bench also made it clear that the State would be at liberty to move an application for recalling the order, in case of his failure join the investigation within five weeks. As the case came up for resumed hearing before Justice Jhingan, senior counsel R. S. Cheema with Arshdeep Singh Cheema and Tarannum Cheema submitted that the petitioner had tested for Corona positive.

The senior advocate further submitted that the petitioner would join the investigation as soon as he recovered from Covid-19. In the meantime, the petitioner volunteered to join the investigation through videoconferencing, if the investigating agency so desired. He also sought four weeks for physically joining the investigation.

The State counsel also did not dispute that the petitioner had tested positive and reiterated that his custody was not required.

Among other things, Mann in his petition through had contended the Sessions Judge, who rejected his earlier bail plea, was apparently influenced by the show of public outcry, generated by some sections through a sustained campaign. The settled principles regulating the question of bail were overlooked in an atmosphere projected as surcharged. The statutory parameters and the settled norms through precedents were relegated to the background. “The Judge did not even pause to consider as to whether the investigating agency had asked for custodial interrogation and further made a valid case for the same.”

It was added that the petitioner had deep roots in the society and nothing in his previous conduct during the inquiry would show that he was likely to abscond. Moreover, the alleged objectionable material was already in public domain and nothing was required to be recovered from the petitioner warranting his custodial interrogation.

“Moreover, as a humble Sikh and the sensitive citizen, the petitioner made a widely circulated public apology…. His words ought to be interpreted in the total background of his lifelong devotion to venerable Sikh Gurus and to the principles of Sikhism,” it was added.