Neeraj Alias Ghissi v. State Of Haryana
IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB & HARYANA AT
CHANDIGARH Date of decision : 19.03.2026 Neeraj @Ghissi ..... Petitioner
VERSUS
State of Haryana ..... Respondent CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SURYA PARTAP SINGH Present :
Mr. Shailender Singh Gill, Advocate and Mr. Yajat Gill, Advocate for the petitioner.
Ms. Deepali Verma, Asst. A.G. Haryana.
Mr. Amit Choudhary, Advocate for the complainant. ***** SURYA PARTAP SINGH, J. (oral) This petition for bail is the first petition, filed by the petitioner under Section 483 of 'the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023'. It has been filed with regard to a case arising out of FIR No.373 dated 13.06.2025, for the commission of offence punishable under Sections 109(1), 115, 118(2), 126, 190, 191(2), 191(3), 351(3) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and Section 25 of Arms Act, Police Station HTM, District Hisar. 2.
The abovementioned FIR came into being at the instance of 'Vikram @Vikramjeet', hereinafter being referred to as 'complainant' only. It was stated by the complainant that on 05.06.2025, he was going to his home on his motorcycle, and that on the way near Street No.26, Surya
Nagar, Dayanand, Naseeb @Bittu, Prahlad, Vikas, Viaan @Bholar, Vishant @Dhoni, Sinder, Dipu and 4-5 unknown persons blocked his passage. According to complainant, the abovementioned persons were armed with various weapons, such as gandasi (pole-axe), sword, pistol etc., and they all launched an attack upon him and inflicted multiple injuries on his person. 3.
It is the case of the prosecution that in view of abovementioned statement, formal FIR in this case was lodged and the investigation taken up. 4.
The learned State Counsel has filed status report as well as custody certificate of the petitioner. The same be taken on record. 5.
Heard.
6.
It has been contented on behalf of the petitioner that name of petitioner does not figure in the FIR, and that he has clean antecedents. According to learned counsel for the petitioner, the petitioner has suffered a long incarceration for being in custody for a period of more than nine months. It has also been contended by learned counsel for the petitioner that during the course of investigation also, it has transpired that at the time of incident the petitioner was not carrying any weapon, and that is why nothing has been recovered from the possession of petitioner. 7.
The learned State Counsel, being assisted by learned counsel for the complainant, has controverted the abovementioned arguments. It has been contended by learned counsel for the complainant that the presence of petitioner at the time of occurrence duly stands proved, in view of the disclosure statement suffered by the petitioner himself and his co-accused,
and that in the present case, Sections 190 and 191 of BNS have been invoked, and thus, being the member of unlawful assembly, the petitioner is responsible for each and every act committed by the abovementioned assembly. According to learned counsel for the complainant, multiple fractures were suffered by the victim in the abovementioned incident, and that the statement of complainant is yet to be recovered by the learned trial Court. In view of above the learned counsel for the complainant has contended that the petitioner is not entitled for benefit of bail. 8.
The record has been perused carefully.
9.
A perusal of record shows that in the present case, following are the relevant factors which are required to be taken into consideration for a decision: - i) that the petitioner is already in custody for a period of more than nine months;
ii) that as per custody certificate, the petitioner has clean antecedents;
iii) that the victim has already been discharged from the hospital; iv) that the injury allegedly caused by the petitioner with the help of kicks and punches, has not been specifically described either in the FIR or in the report under Section 193 of BNSS; v) that nothing has been left to be recovered from the possession of petitioner, nor any weapon has been attributed to him; vi) that the trial is not likely to be concluded in near future, as out of eighteen prosecution witnesses, not even a single witness has been examined, so far;
vii) that the detention of the petitioner in judicial lockup is not likely to serve any purpose;
viii) that there is nothing on record to show that if released on bail, the petitioner may tamper with the evidence or influence the witnesses; and ix) that there is nothing on record to show that if released on bail, the petitioner will not participate/cooperate in the trial. 10.
In the present case, the principles of law laid down by the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India in the case of "Dataram versus State of Uttar Pradesh and another", 2018(2) R.C.R. (Criminal) 131, are also relevant, wherein it has been observed that "a fundamental postulate of criminal jurisprudence is the presumption of innocence, meaning thereby that a person is believed to be innocent until found guilty. However, there are instances in our criminal law where a reverse onus has been placed on an accused with regard to some specific offences but that is another matter and does not detract from the fundamental postulate in respect of other offences.
Yet another important facet of our criminal jurisprudence is that the grant of bail is the general rule and putting a person in jail or in a prison or in a correction home (whichever expression one may wish to use) is an exception. Unfortunately, some of these basic principles appear to have been lost sight of with the result that more and more persons are being incarcerated and for longer periods. This does not do any good to our criminal jurisprudence or to our society.
number of decisions rendered by this Court and by every High Court in the country. Yet, occasionally there is a necessity to introspect whether denying bail to an accused person is the right thing to do on the facts and in the circumstances of a case".
11.
The principles laid down by the Hon'ble the Supreme Court of India in the case of 'Satender Kumar Antil Vs. Central Bureau of Investigation and Another', (2022) 10 SCC 51, are also relevant in this case. In the abovementioned case, it has been observed that "the rate of conviction in criminal cases in India is abysmally low. It appears to us that this factor weighs on the mind of the Court while deciding the bail applications in a negative sense. Courts tend to think that the possibility of a conviction being nearer to rarity, bail applications will have to be decided strictly, contrary to legal principles. We cannot mix up consideration of a bail application, which is not punitive in nature with that of a possible adjudication by way of trial. On the contrary, an ultimate acquittal with continued custody would be a case of grave injustice".
12.
Recently, in the case of 'Tapas Kumar Palit Vs. State of Chhattisgarh', 2025 SCC Online SC 322, the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India has observed that "if an accused is to get a final verdict after incarceration of six to seven years in jail as an undertrial prisoner, then, definitely, it could be said that his right to have a speedy trial under Article 21 of the Constitution has been infringed". It has also been observed by the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India in the abovementioned case that "delays are bad for the accused and extremely bad for the victims, for Indian society and
for the credibility of our justice system, which is valued. Judges are the masters of their Courtrooms and the Criminal Procedure Code provides many tools for the Judges to use in order to ensure that cases proceed efficiently".
13.
To elucidate further, this Court is conscious of the basic and fundamental principle of law that right to speedy trial is a part of reasonable, fair and just procedure enshrined under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. This constitutional right cannot be denied to the accused as mandated by Hon'ble Apex court in "Balwinder Singh versus State of Punjab and Another", 2024 SCC Online SC 4354.
14.
If the cumulative effect of all the abovementioned factors, involved in the instant case, is taken into consideration, it leads to a conclusion that the petitioner is entitled for the benefit of bail, and that the present petition deserves to be allowed.
15.
Accordingly, without commenting anything on the merits of the case, the present petition is hereby allowed. The petitioner is hereby ordered to be released on bail on furnishing personal bond and surety bond(s) to the satisfaction of learned trial Court. However the abovementioned concession shall be subject to following conditions:- (i) that the petitioner shall not directly or indirectly make any inducement, threat or promise to any person acquainted with the facts of the case, so as to dissuade him to disclose such facts to the Court or to any other authority;
(ii) that the petitioner shall at the time of execution of bond, furnish the address to the Court concerned and shall notify the change
in address to the trial Court, till the final decision of the trial; and (iii) that the petitioner shall not leave India without prior permission of the trial Court.
(SURYA PARTAP SINGH) JUDGE 19.03.2026 Gaurav Thakur Whether speaking / reasoned Yes/No Whether Reportable Yes/No