Allowed

Amarjit Kaur v. State of Punjab

Punjab & Haryana HC25 Jul 2023CRR/385/2023

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

This High Court granted bail to a minor accused (petitioner) charged with murder,IPC 302,148,149. The court emphasized lack of preparation due to use of an iron pipe and the minor's status. It imposed stringent conditions including staying away from the victim's residence and communication bans, setting aside lower court rejection orders.

What did the court decide?

Petitioner released on personal bond or fixed deposit with strict conditions to not contact victim, stay away from victim's home, and refrain from specific behaviors until completion of trial and reco

Amarjit Kaur Vs State of Punjab — Child Sexual Offences (POCSO) | Punjab & Haryana HC (2023)

2023:PHHC:094051

CRR-385-2023

207 IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH

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CRR-385-2023

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Date of decision: 25.07.2023

Amarjit Kaur

...Petitioner

Versus

State of Punjab …Respondent

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CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE ANOOP CHITKARA

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Present: Mr. Tarun Sharma, Advocate for the petitioner.

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Mr. Karunesh Kaushal, AAG, Punjab.

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ANOOP CHITKARA, J.

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FIR No.	Dated	Police Station	Sections
75	24.06.2020	Sadar Moga, District Moga	302, 148, 149 IPC

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Criminal Appeal	78 of 2021
before Appellate	CIS No.CRA/13/2021
Court	Date of decision: 22.07.2021

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Challenging the order of dismissal of bail petition passed by Ld. Principal Magistrate-cum-Juvenile Justice Board vide order dated 10.05.2021, and further affirmed by ld. Additional Sessions Judge, Moga, vide order dated 22.07.2021, the petitioner has come up before this Court.

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In paragraph 16 of the bail petition, the accused declares that he has no criminal antecedents.

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The complainant alleged that his son Inderjit had an affair with Amarjit Kaur @ Nisha. On the night of June 23 and 24, at 4 AM, they did not find Inderjit on his bed and heard shrieks from the house of co-accused- Balwinder Singh @ Binder. On reaching there, they noticed the petitioner and all her family members beating Inderjit. After that, the complainant's party took Inderjit to hospital, but he succumbed to his injuries.

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Ld. Counsel for the petitioner contends that the pre-trial incarceration would

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cause an irreversible injustice to the petitioner and family.

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Status report dated 25.07.2023 filed in the Court today and the same is taken on record. A copy thereof has been supplied to counsel for the petitioner in the Court itself. Ld. counsel representing the State opposes bail.

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REASONING:

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The petitioner made a disclosure statement under section 27 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, and got recovered an iron pipe used to assault the deceased. Given the petitioner being a minor, i.e., under 18 years of age at the time of the offence, the weapon of offence being an iron pipe, which prima facie points towards lack of preparations to assault, and the entire family cumulatively causing the injuries to the deceased on noticing him in their house, when he allegedly had an affair with their minor daughter aged 16, which would be a statutory rape punishable under Protection of children from sexual offences Act, 2012 and section 376 of IPC, there would be no justification for further pre-trial incarceration at this stage, subject to the compliance of terms and conditions mentioned in this order. Furthermore, the petitioner is a first offender, and one of the relevant factors would be to provide an opportunity to coursecorrect.

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In Madhu Tanwar and Anr. v. State of Punjab, 2023:PHHC:077618 [Para 10, 21] , CRM-M-27097-2023, decided on 29-05-2023, this court observed,

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[10] The exponential growth in technology and artificial intelligence has transformed identification techniques remarkably. Voice, gait, and facial recognition are incredibly sophisticated and pervasive. Impersonation, as we know it traditionally, has virtually become impossible. Thus, the remedy lies that whenever a judge or an officer believes that the accused might be a flight risk or has a history of fleeing from justice, then in such cases, appropriate conditions can be inserted that all the expenditure that shall be incurred to trace them, shall be recovered from such person, and the State shall have a lien over their assets to make good the loss.

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[21] In this era when the knowledge revolution has just begun, to keep pace with exponential and unimaginable changes the technology has brought to human lives, it is only fitting that the dependence of the accused on surety is minimized by giving alternative options. Furthermore, there should be no insistence to provide permanent addresses when people either do not have permanent abodes or intend to re-locate.

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Given above, provided the petitioner is not required in any other case, the

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petitioner shall be released on bail in the FIR captioned above, in the following terms :

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(a). Petitioner to furnish personal bond of Rs. Ten thousand (INR 10,000/); AND

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(b) To give one surety of Rs. Twenty-five thousand (INR 25,000/-), to the satisfaction of the concerned court, and in case of non-availability, to any nearest Ilaqa Magistrate/duty Magistrate. Before accepting the surety, the concerned officer/court must satisfy that if the accused fails to appear in court, then such surety can produce the accused before the court.

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(b). Petitioner to hand over to the concerned court a fixed deposit for Rs. Ten thousand only (INR 10,000/-), with the clause of automatic renewal of the principal and the interest reverting to the linked account, made in favor of the ‘Chief Judicial Magistrate’ of the concerned district, or blocking the aforesaid amount in favour of the concerned ‘Chief Judicial Magistrate’. Said fixed deposit or blocking funds can be from any of the banks where the stake of the State is more than 50% or from any of the well-established and stable private sector banks. In case the bankers are not willing to make a Fixed Deposit in such eventuality it shall be permissible for the petitioner to prepare an account payee demand draft favouring concerned Chief Judicial Magistrate for the similar amount.

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(c). Such court shall have a lien over the funds until the case's closure or discharged by substitution, or up to the expiry of the period mentioned under S. 437-A CrPC, 1973, and at that stage, subject to the proceedings under S. 446 CrPC, the entire amount of fixed deposit, less taxes if any, shall be endorsed/returned to the depositor.

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(d). The petitioner is to also execute a bond for attendance in the concerned court(s) as and when asked to do so. The presentation of the personal bond shall be deemed acceptance of the declarations made in the bail petition and all other stipulations, terms, and conditions of section 438(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, and of this bail order.

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(e). While furnishing personal bond, the petitioner shall mention the following personal identification details:

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1. AADHAR number [In case of the
residents of India]
2. Passport number [In case of foreign

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nationals]

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1. Passport number of an Indian citizen, (If available), when the attesting officer/court deems appropriate or considers the accused as a flight risk.

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1. Mobile number (If available) 5. E-Mail id (If available)

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The possibility of the accused influencing the investigation, tampering with evidence, intimidating witnesses, and the likelihood of fleeing justice, can be taken care of by imposing elaborative and stringent conditions. In Sushila Aggarwal, (2020) 5 SCC 1, Para 92, the Constitutional Bench held that unusually, subject to the evidence produced, the Courts can impose restrictive conditions.

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Without commenting on the case's merits, in the facts and circumstances peculiar to this case, and for the reasons mentioned above, the petitioner makes a case for bail, subject to the following terms and conditions, which shall be over and above and irrespective of the contents of the form of bail bonds in chapter XXXIII of CrPC, 1973.

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Till the completion of the trial, the petitioner shall not contact, call, text, message, remark, stare, stalk, make any gestures or express any unusual or inappropriate, verbal or otherwise objectionable behavior towards the victim and victim's family, either physically, or through phone call or any other social media, through any other mode, nor shall unnecessarily roam around the victim's home.

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Given the nature of the allegations and the other circumstances peculiar to this case, the petitioner shall not enter the property, workplace, and the residence of the victim and shall also not enter within a radius of five-hundred meters from the home of the victim’s family till the recording of the statements of all non-official and informal witnesses in the trial. This Court is imposing this condition to rule out any attempt by the accused to incapacitate, influence, or cause any discomfort to the victim. Reference be made to Vikram Singh v Central Bureau of Investigation, 2018 All SCR (Crl.) 458); and Aparna Bhatt v. State of Madhya Pradesh, 2021 SCC Online SC 230.

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During the trial's pendency, if the petitioner repeats or commits any offence where the sentence prescribed is more than seven years or violates any condition as stipulated in this order, it shall always be permissible to the respondent to apply for cancellation of this bail. It shall further be open for any investigating agency to bring it to the notice of the Court seized of the subsequent application that the accused was earlier cautioned not to indulge in criminal activities. Otherwise, the bail bonds shall

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remain in force throughout the trial and after that in Section 437-A of the Cr.P.C., if not canceled due to non-appearance or breach of conditions.

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The conditions mentioned above imposed by this court are to endeavour that the accused does not repeat the offence and to ensure the safety of the witnesses, victim, and their families. In Mohammed Zubair v. State of NCT of Delhi, Writ Petition (Criminal) No 279 of 2022, Para 29, decided on July 20, 2022, A Three-Judge bench of Hon’ble Supreme Court holds that “The bail conditions imposed by the Court must not only have a nexus to the purpose that they seek to serve but must also be proportional to the purpose of imposing them. The courts while imposing bail conditions must balance the liberty of the accused and the necessity of a fair trial. While doing so, conditions that would result in the deprivation of rights and liberties must be eschewed.”

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Any Advocate for the petitioner and the Officer in whose presence the petitioner puts signatures on personal bonds shall explain all conditions of this bail order in any language that the petitioner understands.

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If the petitioner finds bond amount beyond social and financial reach, it may be brought to the notice of this Court for appropriate reduction. Further, if the petitioner finds bail condition(s) as violating fundamental, human, or other rights, or causing difficulty due to any situation, then for modification of such term(s), the petitioner may file a reasoned application before this Court, and after taking cognizance, even to the Court taking cognizance or the trial Court, as the case may be, and such Court shall also be competent to modify or delete any condition.

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This order does not, in any manner, limit or restrict the rights of the Police or the investigating agency from further investigation as per law.

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Any observation made hereinabove is neither an expression of opinion on the merits of the case nor shall the trial Court advert to these comments.

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In return for the protection from incarceration, the Court believes that the accused shall also reciprocate through desirable behavior.

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The SHO of the concerned police station or the investigating officer shall arrange to send a copy of this order, preferably a soft copy, to the complainant and the victim, within two days. If the victim(s) notice any violation of this order, they may inform the SHO of the concerned police station, the trial court, or even this court.

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There would be no need for a certified copy of this order for furnishing bonds, and any Advocate for the Petitioner can download this order along with case status from the official web page of this Court and attest it to be a true copy. In case the attesting officer Sonia Arora wants to verify the authenticity, such an officer can also verify its authenticity and may 2023.07.27 17:39 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document 5

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download and use the downloaded copy for attesting bonds.

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Petition allowed in aforesaid terms . Order passed by Juvenile Justice Board dated 16.07.2021 as well as judgment of appellate Court dated 22.07.2021 are set aside. All pending applications, if any, stand closed.

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(ANOOP CHITKARA) JUDGE

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25.07.2023 sonia arora Whether speaking/reasoned: Yes Whether reportable: No.

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Sonia Arora 2023.07.27 17:39 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document

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Amarjit Kaur v. State of Punjab

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

Amarjit Kaur v. State of Punjab

Case brief

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What did the court decide?

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