Punjab and Haryana High Court denies anticipatory bail to accused in a case of extortion and blackmail
The High Court of Punjab and Haryana at Chandigarh has dismissed a petition filed by Subhash Singh seeking anticipatory bail in a case filed against him by the State of Haryana. The case was registered under Sections 384, 506, 511, and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at the Police Station Sector-09 Ambala City, District Ambala. Singh had been named in a disclosure statement of his co-accused, who had been accused of attempting to extort money from the complainant.
The complainant had alleged that he was staying in a rented house in Ambala City along with his friends when an unknown girl came inside, stating that she had come to take the house on rent. She provided her mobile phone number to him, and later accused him of refusing to marry her because she belonged to the scheduled caste community. Singh and his co-accused were accused of attempting to extort money from the complainant and defaming him.
During the investigation, Singh had joined the investigation but had refused to hand over his mobile phone, claiming that it had been lost. The prosecution had argued that the allegations against Singh were grave and that he was a blackmailer and extortionist.
The Hon’ble Justice Jasjit Singh Bedi, while dismissing the petition, held that Singh did not deserve the concession of anticipatory bail, as he had not cooperated with the Investigating Agency and the allegations against him were serious. The judge also observed that 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, and custodial interrogation alone cannot be a good ground to grant anticipatory bail. The judge also clarified that the observations in the order were only for the purposes of deciding the bail application, and the Trial Court was free to adjudicate upon the matter in accordance with the law.
21 April, 2023
Subhash Singh vs State Of Haryana
