Baljit Kaur v. State of Punjab

RAMESH KUMARI, J.

CM No. 36926 of 2025

For the reasons mentioned in the application, delay of 11 days in filing the appeal is condoned. Application stands disposed of. CRA-D-1236 of 2025

¶1Appellant-Baljit Kaur assails the order dated 01.08.2025 passed by the Court of learned Additional Sessions Judge, Gurdaspur, vide which the learned trial Court dismissed the application filed by appellant seeking regular bail in respect of a case arising out of FIR No. 8 dated 17.02.2025 under Sections 109, 324(4) and 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita-2023 and Sections 3,4 and 5 of the Explosive Substances Act, 1908 and under Sections 13,16,17, 18, 18(B) and 20 of the Unlawful Activity of Prevention Act, (for short 'UAPA'), registered at Police Station Kotli Surat, Malhi. CRAD-1236-2025 (O&M) 2

¶2The translated gist of the FIR recorded on the statement of Sub Inspector Jagjit Singh, reads as under:- "Today, when I was present at Adda Shikar Machhiyan in search of anti-social persons, a secret informer informed me that today at around 08: 0 !M, some unknown motorcyclists dropped some e"plosi#e su$stance at the house of Sukhde# Sin%h son of !uran Sin%h, resident of &aimal with an intention of kill him and there$y caused an e"plosion, which resulted in dama%e to his house' Since, $y doin% so these unknown persons ha#e committed offence punisha$le u(ss 0), *+,-,. /0S 1 Sections *, ,, 2 of the 34!56SI73 A8T )08, intimation is $ein% sent to the !olice Station for re%istration of 9I&' Sd(- :as;it Sin%h, SI(S<6, !'S' =otli Surat Malli'>

¶3Short reply by way of affidavit of Shri Joga Singh, PPS, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Sub Division Dera Baba Nanak, Police District Batala has been filed by learned State counsel today in Court, which is taken on record.

¶4Learned counsel for the appellant submitted that the appellant is nowhere named in the FIR and is sought to be nominated on the basis of a string of disclosure statements. It has further been submitted that, in any case, during the course of investigation, nothing incriminatory was recovered from her possession.

¶5On the other hand, learned State counsel submitted that during the course of investigation, sufficient evidence has been collected to show the complicity of the appellant. Learned State counsel pointed out that the appellant is the mother of co-accused Ravinder Singh. Co-accused Mohit and Vishal Bhatti are associates of co-accused Ravinder Singh. The appellant knew co-accused Mohit and Vishal Bhatti as they visited the house of co-accused Ravinder Singh son of the appellant in connection with a criminal conspiracy. The CRAD-1236-2025 (O&M) 3

criminal conspiracy was discussed in the house of the appellant and her residence served as a meeting point and safe shelter for hatching a conspiracy where a plan of throwing grenade at the house of Pappu Jaintipuria was discussed and finalized.

¶6We have considered the rival submissions addressed before this Court.

¶7The entire case against the appellant is based on disclosure statement of co-accused Mohit son of Jaspal, who in his disclosure statement stated that:- o"6n 2'0 '+0+2, I was at my house when my nei%h$our &a#inder Sin%h came to me and said that one of his friends who had returned from a$road was to $e met and asked me to accompany him' I sat on &a#inder Sin%h?s $lack Splendor motor cycle and we proceeded towards #illa%e 0awa!ind' 6n the way, &a#inder Sin%h told me that we had to throw a $om$ at the house of !appu :aintipuria, a li@uor trader, in #illa%e :aintipur' I $ecame fri%htened $ut &a#inder Sin%h assured me that there was nothin% to fear, no one would come to know, and that we would %et &s' +0000(- to &s' +2,000(- in return' I only had to dri#e the motor cycle' I a%reed'> He further disclosed that he was called by co-accused Ravinder Singh at his house where his brother, sister and mother were already present. In their presence, he planned to execute the plan of throwing grenade attack. He further stated that the family of Ravinder Singh was aware about the conspiracy and the plan. On 15.01.2025, co-accused Ravinder Singh and Vishal Bhatti went on the motor cycle which was driven by Ravinder Singh and threw a grenade at the house of Pappu Jaintipuria which exploded. Thereafter, co-accused Ravinder Singh went abroad without informing him.

¶8Appellant Baljit Kaur along with co-accused Vishal Bhatti and Ravinder Singh were nominated in the present FIR on the basis of said disclosure CRAD-1236-2025 (O&M) 4

statement of co-accused Mohit son of Jaspal vide DDR No. 13 dated

28.02.2025.

¶9During investigation, co-accused Vishal Bhatti was arrested and his disclosure statement was also recorded. He also stated that co-accused Ravinder Singh introduced him to co-accused Mohit. On 14.01.2025, co-accused Vishal Bhatti visited the house of Ravinder Singh where Mohit, Rajbir Singh alias Raja were already present there. Ravinder Singh informed him that he had received a call from Happy Passian, who told him that a bomb had to be thrown at the house of Pappu Jaintipuria and in return they would receive a sum of Rs. 50000/- each. At that time, his mother Baljit Kaur (appellant), his sister and brother-in-law were present in the house. On

15.01.2025, he remained in the house of Ravinder Singh. The house of Pappu Jaintipuria was identified by co-accused Ravinder Singh and Rajbir Singh. When they reached the house of Pappu Jaintipuria in village Jaintipur, Ravinder Singh threw the hand grenade, which caused a very powerful explosion. After the incident, co-accused Ravinder Singh went abroad.

¶10Thus, allegation against the appellant is that she being the mother of co-accused Ravinder Singh had prior knowledge of the criminal conspiracy and she provided shelter for execution of the terrorist acts as disclosed by co-accused Mohit and Vishal Bhatti in their disclosure statements.

¶11We have also gone through Sub Section 5 of Section 43-D of UAPA which creates an embargo on grant of bail. This Sub Section reads as under:- " ,*-A' Modified application of certain pro#isions of the 8ode'B CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC'' -2. 0otwithstandin% anythin% contained in the 8ode, no person accused of an offence punisha$le under 8hapters I7 and 7I of this Act shall, if in custody, $e CRAD-1236-2025 (O&M)                                                                                              5

released on bail or on his own bond unless the Public Prosecutor has been given an opportunity of being heard on the application for such release: Provided that such accused person shall not be released on bail or on his own bond if the Court, on a perusal of the case diary or the report made under Section 173 of the Code is of the opinion that there are reasonable grounds for believing that the accusation against such person is prima facie true????".

12.o oOffencesopunishableounderoSectiono13,o16,o17,o18,o18-Boando20oofoUAPAo haveobeenoallegedoagainstotheoappellant.oo o oSectiono13oofoUAPAoreadsoasounder:-o o ���� Punishment for unlawful activities.—

(1) Whoever— (a) takes part in or commits, or (b) advocates, abets, advises or incites the commission of, any unlawful activity, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to seven years and shall also be liable to fine.

(2) Whoever, in any way, assists any unlawful activity of any association, declared unlawful under section 3, after the notification by which it has been so declared has become effective under sub-section (3) of that section, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years, or with fine, or with both.

(3) Nothing in this section shall apply to any treaty, agreement or convention entered into between the Government of India and the Government of any other country or to any negotiations therefor carried on by any person authorised in this behalf by the Government of India." ooooooooooooooooooTheo termo unlawfulo activityo haso beeno definedo ino Sectiono 2(o),owhichoreadsothus:oo "�������������.—???????????

(o) "unlawful activity", in relation to an individual or association, means any action taken by such individual or association (whether by committing an act or by RAVINDERgKUMAR 2026.03.17g16:13 Igattestgtogthegaccuracygand integritygofgthisgdocument CRAD-1236-2025 (O&M)                                                                                              6

words, either spoken or written, or by signs or by visible representation or otherwise),—

(i) which is intended, or supports any claim, to bring Criminal Appeal No. 3173 of 2024 cession of a part of the territory of India or the secession of a part of the territory of India from the Union, or which incites any individual or group of individuals to bring about such cession or secession; or

(ii) which disclaims, questions, disrupts or is intended to disrupt the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India; or

(iii) which causes or is intended to cause disaffection against India; ????.."

Sectionso16,o17,o18oando18BoofoUAPAoreadothus:oo ����� ����������� ���� ���������� �����(1) Whoever commits a terrorist act shall,��

(a) if such act has resulted in the death of any person, be punishable with death or imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable to fine;

(b) in any other case, be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than five years but which may extend to imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable to fine." � "���������������������������������������������������� Whoever, in India or in a foreign country, directly or indirectly, raises or provides funds or collects funds, whether from a legitimate or illegitimate source, from any person or persons or attempts to provide to, or raises or collects funds for any person or persons, knowing that such funds are likely to be used, in full or in part by such person or persons or by a terrorist organisation or by a terrorist gang or by an individual terrorist to commit a terrorist act, notwithstanding whether such funds were actually used or not for commission of such act, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than five years but which may extend to imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable to fine. Explanation.—For the purpose of this section,— RAVINDERgKUMAR 2026.03.17g16:13 Igattestgtogthegaccuracygand integritygofgthisgdocument CRAD-1236-2025 (O&M)                                                                                              7

(a) participating, organising or directing in any of the acts stated therein shall constitute an offence;

(b) raising funds shall include raising or collecting or providing funds through production or smuggling or circulation of high quality counterfeit Indian currency; and

(c) raising or collecting or providing funds, in any manner for the benefit of, or, to an individual terrorist, terrorist gang or terrorist organisation for the purpose not specifically covered under section 15 shall also be construed as an offence."

����� ����������� ���� ������������ �����Whoever conspires or attempts to commit, or advocates, abets, advises or 3[incites, directly or knowingly facilitates] the commission of, a terrorist act or any act preparatory to the commission of a terrorist act, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than five years but which may extend to imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable to fine."

������ ����������� ���� ����������� ��� ���� ������� ��� ���������������������������Whoever recruits or causes to be recruited any person or persons for commission of a terrorist act shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than five years but which may extend to imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable to fine."o oo

13.o TheoallegationoagainstotheoappellantoBaljitoKauroisothatoaoconspiracyotoothrowo aogrenadeoonotheohouseoofoPappuoJaintipuriaoinovillageoJaintipurowasoplannedo inoherohouseoinoheropresence.oThereoisonooevidenceotooshowothatoappellantowaso everoinotouchowithoanyoofotheoco-accused.oThereoisonothingoonorecordowhicho showsothatoappellantoBaljitoKaurohadotakenoanyopartoorocommittedounlawfulo activitiesoasodefinedoinoUAPA.oThereoareonooallegationsoagainstoherothatosheo advocated,oabetted,ooroincitedocommissionoofoanyounlawfuloactivities.oEvenoifo assumingothatoco-accusedothrewoaogrenadeoonotheohouseoofoPappuoJainatpuriao RAVINDERgKUMAR 2026.03.17g16:13 Igattestgtogthegaccuracygand integritygofgthisgdocument CRAD-1236-2025 (O&M) 8

and conspiracy to indulge in that activity was hatched in her house, there is nothing on record that she was party to that conspiracy.

¶14Section 20 of UAPA, stipulates punishment for being member of terrorist gang or organization. This Section reads thus: ��� �� ����������� ���� !����� ���!��� ��� ���������� ����������������������Any person who is a mem$er of a terrorist %an% or a terrorist or%anisation, which is in#ol#ed in terrorist act, shall $e punisha$le with imprisonment for a term which may e"tend to imprisonment for life, and shall also $e lia$le to fine'> ������������Terrorist gang has been defined in Section 2(L), which reads thus: ��������������'BCCCCCCCCCCCCCC' ����5 "terrorist %an%> means any association, other than terrorist or%anisation, whether systematic or otherwise, which is concerned with, or in#ol#ed in, terrorist actH CCCC'>

15.oooooooThere are no allegations on record that the appellant was a member of any terrorist gang. As regards the second part of being a member of a terrorist organisation, as per Section 2(m), a terrorist organisation means an organisation listed in the first schedule or an organisation operating under the same name as the organisation was listed. The reply submitted by the learned State counsel does not mention the name of the terrorist organisation within the meaning of Section 2(m) of which the appellant was a member.

¶16Appellant is a lady aged about 47 years and is a house wife, has no criminal antecedents and clean record and happens to be the mother of co-accused Ravinder Singh, who is absconding. Apart from the disclosure statement of co-accused Mohit and Vishal Bhatti, there is no evidence to connect the appellant with the offences in question against co-accused. CRAD-1236-2025 (O&M) 9

¶17The custody certificate placed on record by the learned State counsel reflects that the appellant was arrested on 03.03.2025 and since then she is in custody and has spent more than one year in custody. Challan against her as well as co-accused has already been presented in the trial Court on 25.08.2025 and charges have been framed on 03.12.2025 and presently the case is posted for prosecution evidence on 23.03.2026.

¶18Having regard to the aforesaid facts and circumstances, we find that the veracity and evidentiary value of the disclosure statements of co-accused Mohit and Vishal Bhatti against the appellant, yet to be tested during trial. Therefore, without commenting upon the merits of the case, it is a fit case for grant of concession of regular bail to the appellant Baljit Kaur.

¶19In view of above observations, the impugned order is set aside and the instant appeal, as such, is accepted. The appellant is ordered to be released on regular bail subject to her furnishing bail bonds to the satisfaction of the learned trial Court/Illaqa Magistrate/Duty Magistrate.

¶20Needless to observe that the observations recorded hereinabove are only for the determination of appeal seeking bail. The reasons are confined to the case of the appellant pertaining to bail and same shall have no bearing on the merits of the trial pending before the trial Court.

¶21Since the trial is pending for recordingo theo evidenceo ofo theo prosecutiono witnesses,o theo trialo Courto iso directedo too takeo theo followingo stepso foro expeditiousoconclusionoofotheotrial:-o

(i)oTheotrialoCourtoshalloframeoaoscheduleoofodatesoinoadvanceoforo summoningotheowitnessesoandoshalloalsooendeavourotoorecordotheo statementsoofotheoPWsowhoseopresenceoisodulyosecured.oSpecialo Messengerso beo deputedo foro securingo theo presenceo ofo theo CRAD-1236-2025 (O&M)                                                                                              10

prosecutiono witnesses.o Ifo deemedo necessary,o ao lettero mayo beo writteno too theo Senioro Superintendento ofo Police,o concerned,o foro gettingo theo needfulo doneo foro ensuringo timelyo presenceo ofo prosecutionowitnesses;oando

(ii)oTheoprosecutionoisodirectedotooensureotheopresenceoofoallotheo prosecutionowitnessesobeforeotheotrialoCourtoonotheodatesoasomayo beofixedobyotheotrialoCourtofororecordingoprosecutionoevidence.o TheoDistrictoAttorneyoconcernedotootakeonecessaryostepsoforotheo purposeo ofo securingotheo presenceo ofo theoremainingoprosecutiono witnesses.oo o o (GURVINDERoSINGHoGILLo)o o o o(RAMESHoKUMARI)o oo ooooooJUDGEooooo o o o o o oooJUDGEo o o oo o

16.03.2026o ravinderooo o Whetherospeaking/reasonedo √Yes/Noo Whetheroreportableo √Yes/Nooo o

RAVINDERgKUMAR 2026.03.17g16:13 Igattestgtogthegaccuracygand integritygofgthisgdocument

CRAD-1236-2025 (O&M) 1 INoTHEoHIGHoCOURToOFoPUNJABo&oHARYANAoATo CHANDIGARHo CRA-D-1236-2025 (O&M) Date of Decision:-16.03.2026 Baljit Kaur … Appellant versus State of Punjab ... Respondent CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE GURVINDER SINGH GILL HON'BLE MRS. JUSTICE RAMESH KUMARI. Present:- Mr. G.S.Randhawa, Advocate, for the appellant. Mr. Siddharth Attri, Assistant Advocate General, Punjab with SI Nishan Singh. *****