High Court of Punjab and HaryanaCRM-M/55523/2024dismissed

Pupinder Singh v. State Of Punjab

2025-01-23Mr. Justice Sandeep Moudgil9 pages

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20,. &'( 30 4SHO, PS Division No.1, Jalandhar, Jai Hind, today I/SI along with SI Jaswinder Singh NO.2132, ASI Gurmail Singh No.2411, ASI Amritpal Singh No.456, ASI Balkar Mattu No.2197, ASI Gauri Shankar No.1905, S/CT Nitin Tondon No.1584, S/CT Surinderpal No.2294, HC Amanjot Kaur No.999,

CT Prince Thind NO.497 were on patrolling on Govt. vehicle Scorpio bearing registration No.PB654BG42591 which was being driven by CT Jaswinder Singh No.218, another govt. vehicle Balero bearing registration No.PB4084DS44498 which was being driven by CT Sukhjinder Singh No.2367 along with Laptop printer, present on Y4point Bhagat Singh Colony Byepass for installing the naka and the suspected vehicle were being checked.In the meanwhile one white colour Innova car bearing registration No. PB084BS42958 saw coming from the side of GT Road which was being driven by one cropped hair person and which was signaled to stop and he tried to ran away from the spot.

The driver of the said vehicle was apprehended with the help of police officials and asked his name and address who disclosed his name as Satnam Singh @ Babbi son of Gurdev Singh resident of village Thadia, PS Sadar Banga, District SBS Nagar. Thereafter, I/SI disclosed my identity to said Satnam Singh @ Babbi son of Gurdev Singh resident of village Thadia, PS Sadar Banga, District SBS Nagar and served him notice u/s 50 NDPS Act that I am SI Sukhraj Singh and posted at CIA Staff Jalandhar. The name plate is affixed on my uniform and I have suspicion that some intoxicant substance in your white colour Innova car bearing registration No. PB084BS42958 reason being you and your white colour Innova car bearing registration No.PB084BS42958 have to be searched.

You have legal right that you can get conduct the search of your white colour Innova car bearing registration No. PB084BS42958from Magistrate or any Gazetted Officer. On that he told that he want to get the search of his car from a Gazetted Officer. Thereafter, I/SI called from my mobile No.98156487644 to Sh. Paramjit Singh, PPS ACP/Detective Jalandhar on their mobile No.98140486612 at about 06:05 PM and informed about the situation and requested to reach on the spot. After about 15 minutes, he reached on the spot on his govt. vehicle Balero bearing registration No. PB654 BC4 6450 along with his gunman ASI Jagiri Lal No.932 and driver ASI Kulwinder Singh No.

address of the person apprehended by me who disclosed his name as Satnam Singh @ Babbi son of Gurdev Singh resident of village Thadia, PS Sadar Banga, District SBS Nagar. Thereafter, Paramjit Singh PPS ACP/Detective Jalandhar served notice u/s 50 NDPS Act to said Satnam Singh that he is Paramjit Singh PPS and posted as ACP/Detective Jalandhar. He worn the uniform and name plate is affixed thereon and he is having suspicion that some intoxicant substance is there in your white colour Innova car bearing registration No.PB084BS42958, so the search of your vehicle Satnam Singh alias Babbi and his vehicle, an have to be conducted but you have legal right that you can get the search of your vehicle from a Magistrate or any other Gazetted Officer.

On that he said that he is having full faith upon you and you can conduct the search of his vehicle. Before conducting the search of attempt was made to join the public witness but despite every possible effort no witness could be joined. Thereafter, on the instructions of Sh. Paramjit Singh PPS ACP/Detective Jalandhar, the search of car of Satnam Singh @ Babbi bearing registration No.

PB084BS42958 was conducted and from the seat adjoining to the driver seat one black colour bag was found and on checking the same 8 packets of Heroin were recovered from the same and out of which 7 packets were packed in cloth and one plastic envelope is inside the same and round stamp was fixed on the cloth and there is BLUE SAPPHIRE4 555 scissor4cross was written and below the scissor cross 2024 is written and 444 is written on cloth and one packet which is packed in cloth and one plastic bag is inside the same and round stamp was affixed on the cloth.SUPERSTAR 888 is written in round stamp. One golden colour currency counting machine, Rs.21 lakh (Twenty Lakh) (4200 currency notes of 500 denomination) recovered from one white colour polythene bag.

On weighing the recovered Heroin with the electric weighing machine, the same is found 8 kg from all the 8 packets (1 kg each packet). All the total 8 packet put into separate plastic boxes and prepared case property.

recovered heroin on which the round stamp was recovered on their cloth and BLUE SAPPHIRE4555 is written on cloth and scissor4 cross was also there and 2024 is written under the scissor4cross were marked as A, B, C, D, E, F, G and one another parcel of 1kg of heroine on which round stamp was affixed on the cloth and SUPERSTAR 888 is written in the stamp was marked as H. The recovered money of Rs.21 lakh was put into separate cloth and prepared parcel. The recovered bag also put a into separate cloth and prepared a separate parcel. The recovered money counting machine also put into cloth and prepared a separate parcel. All the case property was marked by me/SI with myseal 'SS'. Sh. Paramjit Singh PPS ACP/DETECTIVE Jalandhar also sealed the same with his seal 'ps'. The sample of the seal has separately prepared.

After use, I/SI handed over the seal to SI Jaswinder Singh No.2132. Sh. Paramjit Singh PPS ACP/DETECTIVE Jalandhar kept the seal with him. RC of the Innova car bearing registration No.PB084 BS42958 on checking the dashboard which is registered on the name of Mangat Ram s/o Pargash Ram r/o Village Cheema Khurd, PS Apra, District Jalandhar. Thereafter, all the case property in which 8 parcels of 1/1 kg of heroin marked as A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, parcel of drug money of Rs.21 lakh, parcel of money counting machine, parcel of black colour bag, seal of SS/PS and Innova Car bearing registration No.PB084BS42958 along with RC taken into police custody vide separate recovery memos and the recovery memos of recovered Heroin, currency of Rs.21 lakh, money counting machine, bag and white colour Innova car bearing registration No.

PB084BS42958 verified by Sh. Paramjit Singh PPS ACP/Detective Jalandhar. Satnam Singh alias Babbi has committed an offence under section214C/61/85 of NDPS Act by keeping 8 kg of Heroin in his possession. On that ruqa has written and sent to the police station through S/CT Surinderpal No.2294 for registration of case. The number of the case be informed after its registration.

Magistrate. I/SI is busy on the spot along with the police party. Today in the Byepass, Sukhraj area of Y4Point Bhagat Singh Colony Jalandhar, Singh SI, 07:30 time: No.2141, PM, Sd/4 CIA Staff, Commissionerate Jalandhar dated 27.04.2024.'

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730 @It may be true, as pointed out by learned counsel appearing for Respondent No.1, that charge4sheet has already been filed. It will be unfair to presume on our part that the Investigating Officer does not require Respondent No.1 for custodial interrogation for the purpose of further investigation.

Be that as it may, even assuming it a case where Respondent No.1 is not required for custodial interrogation, we are

satisfied that the High Court ought not to have granted discretionary relief of anticipatory bail.

We are dealing with a matter wherein the original complainant (appellant herein) has come before this Court praying that the anticipatory bail granted by the High Court to the accused should be cancelled. To put it in other words, the complainant says that the High Court wrongly exercised its discretion while granting anticipatory bail to the accused in a very serious crime like POCSO and, therefore, the order passed by the High Court granting anticipatory bail to the accused should be quashed and set aside. In many anticipatory bail matters, we have noticed one common argument being canvassed that no custodial interrogation is required and, therefore, anticipatory bail may be granted.

There appears to be a serious misconception of law that if no case for custodial interrogation is made out by the prosecution, then that alone would be a good ground to grant anticipatory bail. Custodial interrogation can be one of the relevant aspects to be considered along with other grounds while deciding an application seeking anticipatory bail. There may be many cases in which the custodial interrogation of the accused may not be required, but that does not mean that the prima facie case against the accused should be ignored or overlooked and he should be granted anticipatory bail. The first and foremost thing that the court hearing an anticipatory bail application should consider is the prima facie case put up against the accused. Thereafter, the nature of the offence should be looked into along with the severity of the punishment.

Custodial interrogation can be one of the grounds to decline custodial interrogation. However, even if custodial interrogation is not required or necessitated, by itself, cannot be a ground to grant anticipatory bail."

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/0*11-+- $$,-, 30 "We find force in the submission of the CBI that custodial interrogation is qualitatively more elicitation oriented than questioning a suspect who is well ensconded with a

' favourable order under Section 438 of the code. In a case like this effective interrogation of a suspected person is of tremendous advantage in disinterring many useful informations and also material which would have been concealed. Success in such interrogation would elude if the suspected person knows that he is well protected and insulated by a pre4arrest bail order during the time he is interrogated. Very often interrogation in such a condition would reduce to a mere ritual. The argument that the custodial interrogation is fraught with the danger of the person being subjected to third4degree methods needs not be countenanced, for, such an argument can be advanced by all accused in all criminal cases. The Court has to presume that responsible police officers would conduct themselves in a responsible manner and that those entrusted with the task of disinterring offences would not conduct themselves as offenders."

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$) ! Meenu Whether speaking/reasoned Yes/No Whether reportable Yes/No