Case:- Gursewak Singh v. State of Punjab
Citation:- SLP(Crl.) No. 11234/2025
Supreme Court Bench:- Justice Sandeep Mehta and Justice J.B. Pardiwala
The Supreme Court yesterday granted anticipatory bail to a man facing corruption charges while criticising the Punjab and Haryana High Court for passing a “cryptic and unusual” order in the matter.
Key Takeaways:
- The case began with an FIR registered in 2021, but the petitioner only approached the court in 2025 after receiving a notice from the Economic Offence Branch.
- The Hon’ble Punjab & Haryana High Court did not decide the bail plea on merits; instead, it asked the DGP Punjab to file an affidavit explaining why the accused was not arrested for 4 years and why no chargesheet was filed.
- The Hon’ble Supreme Court disapproved of this approach, calling the High Court’s order “cryptic and unusual.” The Hon’ble Court said the Hon’ble High Court should have either allowed or rejected bail, not shifted the burden on police explanations.
- The Hon’ble Court observed that the non-arrest of the petitioner for 4 years itself was a strong ground to grant bail.
- The Hon’ble Supreme Court decided the case itself and ordered that if arrested, the petitioner must be released on bail subject to conditions fixed by the Investigating Officer.
