Satveer Kaur v. State of Punjab

ANOOP CHITKARA, J. FIR No. Dated Police Sta.on Sec.ons

10.08.2021 Lakhewali, Dis/. Sri Muktsar Sahib 306, 34 IPC and Sec5ons 3 & 4 of SC & ST Act

¶1Aggrieved by the dismissal of her bail under Sec5on 439 CrPC, 1973 for the offenses including under the Scheduled Caste & Scheduled Tribes (Preven5on of Atroci5es) Act, 1989, (SCSTPOA), the accused has come up before this Court by filing the present appeal under Sec5on 14-A of SCSTPOA, seeking bail.

¶2In paragraph 22 of the grounds of appeal, the accused declares that she has no criminal antecedents.

¶3The facts and allega5ons are being taken from the status report filed by the State, which reads as follows: "As per the version of the complainant Sukhjeet Singh alias Kala, on whose statement the FIR was lodged that he does labor work. They are four siblings and his brother Jagmeet Singh alias Lala got married to Satvir Kaur about 22-23 years ago and they were blessed with three children. Satvir Kaur developed illicit rela(ons with Khushbaj Singh alias Bhola of their village and on several occasions, he also lured her and ran away with her. Gora Singh, doctor of their village, who runs a chemist shop used to give sleeping tablets to his sister-in-law either personally or through Chhinder Bhagwan Singh. Many Panchayats were held in this regard and in Panchayat, mother of Bhola used to support him. His brother Jagmeet Singh also had recovered a mobile given to his sister-in-law by Bhola. His brother was under depression and used to say that his life has turned into hell and he will commit suicide. Since the intervening night of 29-30 of seventh month, his sister-in-law has fled away from the house and they have also moved complaint against above said persons too. Children of Jagmeet Singh, who were away to school, returned at about 02.00 p.m. and found that his brother Jagmeet Singh has commi2ed suicide by hanging himself with the hook on the roof. On hearing the cries of children, he and other neighbors gathered there and gave informa(on to the police and then the dead body was taken down. His brother Jagmeet Singh has died and he has commi2ed suicide on account of harassment meted out to him by Gora Singh, Doctor, Chhinder Bhagwan Singh, Khushbaj Singh, mother of Khushbaj Singh and Satvir Kaur (appellant)."

¶4The appellant's counsel prays for bail by imposing any stringent condi5ons and contends that further pre-trial incarcera5on would cause an irreversible injus5ce to the appellant and her family.

¶5The State's counsel opposes bail and refers to the status report.

¶6It would be appropriate to refer to the following por5ons of the status report, which read as follows: "EVIDENCE AGAINST THE PETITIONER: As per the police record, there are total 39 prosecu(on witnesses in the present case whose statements have been recorded in accordance with law. During the personal search of the deceased Jagmeet Singh, one Suicide Note was recovered from the front pocket of his Kurta Pajama, wri2en on the back side of photo copy of his Aadhar Card in which the deceased Jagmeet Singh named the pe((oner as well as other co-accused liable for his suicide. Report of Forensic Science Laboratory, Phase-4, Mohali regarding ques(oned wri(ngs i.e. suicide note as well as Visra report. The prosecu(on agency has also obtained CDR (Call Detail record) record pertaining to the mobile phone used by the Deceased. Moreover, the other en(re record regarding the above said case has been obtained by the prosecu(on agency, which is on police record. As such the appellant is not en(tled for the concession of regular bail by way of filing the present appeal as the FIR has been registered against the appellant in accordance with law. Status of the case: That as referred above that except the present appellant, there are four other co-accused named in the FIR namely Khushbag Singh alias Bhola, Harjeet Kaur wife of Arajn Singh, Gorkha Singh alias Gora Son of Pal Singh, Chhinder Bhagwan alias Chhinda son of Santokh Singh. During inves(ga(on of the FIR by Special Inves(ga(ng Team, on 12.08.2021, the co-accused Harjeet Kaur and Khushbaj Singh were arrested in the present case. ThereaBer on 13.08.2021, the appellant Satveer Kaur was also arrested by the police. During further inves(ga(on the co-accused Gorkha Singh alias Gora was arrested on 22.09.2021 and the co-accused Chhinder Bhagwan alias Chhinda was arrested on 20.11.2021. During inves(ga(on and as per the report of District A2orney (Legal) Sri Muktsar Sahib, it has been come into picture that the accused of the FIR belongs to General Category and the deceased Jagmeet Singh belongs to Schedule Caste category."

¶7As per paragraph 15 of the appeal, the appellant has been in custody since

13.08.2021. As per the custody cer5ficate dated 30.11.2024, the appellant's total custody in this FIR is three years, three months and fiCeen days. Given the penal provisions invoked viz-a-viz pre-trial custody, coupled with the primafacie analysis of the nature of allega5ons, and the other factors peculiar to this case, there would be no jus5fiability further pre-trial incarcera5on at this stage.

¶8Without commen5ng on the case's merits, in the facts and circumstances peculiar to this case, and for the reasons men5oned above, the appellant makes a case for bail. This order shall come into force from the 5me it is uploaded on this Court's official webpage.

¶9Given above, provided the appellant is not required in any other case, the appellant shall be released on bail in the FIR cap5oned above subject to furnishing bonds to the sa5sfac5on of the concerned Court and due to unavailability before any nearest Ilaqa Magistrate/duty Magistrate. Before accep5ng the surety, the concerned Court must be sa5sfied that if the accused fails to appear, such surety can produce the

¶10While furnishing a personal bond, the appellant shall men5on the following personal iden5fica5on details:

¶1AADHAR number

¶2Passport number (If available) and when the a/es5ng officer/court considers it appropriate or considers the accused a flight risk.

¶3Mobile number (If available)

¶4E-Mail id (If available)

¶11This order is subject to the appellant's complying with the following terms.

¶12The appellant shall abide by all statutory bond condi5ons and appear before the concerned Court(s) on all dates. The appellant shall not tamper with the evidence, influence, browbeat, pressurize, induce, threaten, or promise, directly or indirectly, any witnesses, Police officials, or any other person acquainted with the facts and circumstances of the case or dissuade them from disclosing such facts to the Police or the Court.

¶13This bail is condi5onal, and the founda5onal condi5on is that if the appellant indulges in any non-bailable offense, the State may file an applica5on for cancella5on of this bail before the Sessions Court, which shall be at liberty to cancel this bail.

¶14Any observa5on made hereinabove is neither an expression of opinion on the case's merits nor shall the trial Court advert to these comments.

¶15A cer5fied copy of this order would not be needed for furnishing bonds, and any Advocate for the Appellant can download this order along with case status from the official web page of this Court and a/est it to be a true copy. If the a/es5ng officer wants to verify its authen5city, such an officer can also verify its authen5city and may download and use the downloaded copy for a/es5ng bonds.

¶16Appeal allowed in terms men5oned above. All pending applica5ons, if any, stand disposed of. (ANOOP CHITKARA) JUDGE

13.12.2024 Jyo.-II

IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH Reserved on: 02.12.2024 Pronounced on: 13.12.2024 Satveer Kaur ...Appellant Versus State of Punjab …Respondent CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE ANOOP CHITKARA Present: Mr. J.S. Dhaliwal, Advocate, for the appellant. Mr. Sukhdev Singh, AAG, Punjab. Mr. Harmilonjot Singh, Advocate, for the complainant. ****