Soma vs State of Punjab

M.L. Singhal, J.

According to the prosecution case, on receipt of secret information, the house of the accused was raided, but the accused ran away on seeing the police party coming in the street. A.S.I. Baldev Singh called Baldev Singh son of Shri Ami Chand. He was joined in the raiding party. Two gunny bags each containing 30 kilograms of poppy husk were found lying in the house of the accused in a room situated in the right corner of the house.

The learned counsel for the petitioner submits that it is a case of house search and the house search should have been witnessed by two respectable witnesses of the locality. He submits that so far as Baldev Singh son of Shri Ami Chand is concerned, he is resident of Dashmesh Nagar, Dhuri, while the house of the accused is alleged to be situated in Bazigar Basti, Dhuri. He further submits that assuming the Baldev Singh son of Shri Ami Chand is a respectable person, the house search got vitiated when it was witnessed by one witness and not by two witnesses. He further submits that no reason is given by ASI Baldev Singh as to how he had known the accused earlier. He further submits that in the First Information Report, the version is that the accused had already run away on seeing the police party coming in the street and thereafter A.S.I. Baldev Singh called Baldev Singh son of Ami Chand and joined him and if that was so, Baldev Singh son of Shri Ami Chand could not have seen the accused running away. He further submits that Baldev Singh son of Shri Ami Chand has not stated that it was Soma son of Shri Mithu accused who had run away.

The petitioner has been in custody since September 5, 1998. So far no prosecution witness has been examined. The learned counsel submits that it will not augur well to the prosecution if the accused is kept in jail further without trial. Without stretching these submissions, I feel that bail should be allowed to the petitioner. So, bail to him to the satisfaction of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Sangrur.

This Criminal Miscellaneous is disposed of in the manner indicated above.