Shivani Thakur
Published on: June 30, 2022, at 17:21 IST
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has noted that the instructions given by the Supreme Court in Arnesh Kumar v. State of Bihar on the arresting process must be followed for crimes carrying sentences of up to seven years in jail but not more than that.
The Bench comprising Justice Anoop Chitkara while dealing with an anticipatory bail plea in an FIR registered under Sections 406 and 420 Indian Penal Code, observed,
“Thus, directions passed in Arnesh Kumar v. State of Bihar, (2014) 8 SCC 273, (Para 13), apply to this petition, wherein Hon’ble Supreme Court directed all the State Governments to instruct its police officers not to arrest the accused automatically when the offence is punishable with imprisonment for a term which may be less than seven years or which may extend to seven years; whether with or without fine.”
The Court additionally noted that setting detailed and strict criteria can address the prospect of the accused influencing the inquiry, tampering with evidence, intimidating witnesses, and the likelihood of eluding justice.
The Court also noted that when granting bail with sureties, the “Court” and the “Arresting Officer” should give the accused the option of providing surety bonds through any of the available online and offline channels, or they can place a lien on his bank account as was decided in the case of Mahidul Sheikh v. State of Haryana.
“It shall be the total discretion of the applicant to choose between surety bonds and fixed deposits. It shall also be open for the applicant to apply for substitution of fixed deposit with surety bonds and vice-versa.”
The petitioner shall be considered to be in custody pursuant to Section 27 of the Indian Evidence Act and shall join the investigation as and when requested by the Investigating Officer or any Superior Officer, the court declared in its decision. Failure to cooperate with the investigation will be a reason to ask to have the bail revoked.
If the petitioner fails to forward complete details of bank account along with other relevant information then the bail might be cancelled, Court added.