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22h ago

Supreme Court Grants Anticipatory Bail to Punjab Patwari, Rebukes High Court’s Handling

The court deemed four years without arrest a sufficient basis for pre-arrest protection with release to follow conditions set by the Economic Offence Branch.

The top court on September 3 noted the high court granted bail to a co-accused accused of receiving the bribe amount, but refused the reprieve to the accused patwari (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Overview

  • A bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and Sandeep Mehta on September 3 granted anticipatory bail to Gursewak Singh in a 2021 corruption case.
  • The order directs that, if arrested, Singh must be released on bail subject to terms set by the investigating officer of the Economic Offence Branch, Ludhiana.
  • The Supreme Court said it did not approve the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s approach, calling its direction “very cryptic and unusual.”
  • The High Court had granted bail to a co-accused alleged to have accepted the bribe but denied Singh relief and queried the DGP about the chargesheet and the four-year arrest delay.
  • Justice Pardiwala wrote that the prolonged non-arrest was itself a strong ground to grant anticipatory bail, even as the underlying case remains pending before the High Court.