IN THE 211 Munish @ Mama State of Punjab CORAM : HON'BLE Present :- Mr. for Mr. ***** VINOD S. BHARDWAJ The the Bharatiya Nagarik petitioner in case Sections 309(6), the Bharatiya Nyaya District Hoshiarpur. 2. Briefly made of Jyoti, who house, she heard stepping out to ascertain inside the house and who was wearing hair, while the bolted the gate accused persons chair and demanded THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AT CHANDIGARH CRM-M-29529 Date of decision: Mama VERSUS HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE VINOD Mr. Tushaar Madaan and Ms. Amandeep the petitioner. Mr. Mohit Kapoor, Sr.DAG, Punjab. ***** BHARDWAJ, J. (Oral) The instant third petition has been Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 for case bearing FIR No.0158 dated 309(6), 127(2), 331(5), 351(2) [Section Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 at Police Hoshiarpur. Briefly stated, the present case was who alleged that while she was heard noises coming from the upper ascertain the cause of the disturbance, house and one of the accused persons, wearing an orange-coloured T-shirt, other accused, who was wearing of the house from inside. It was persons forcibly dragged the complainant demanded the keys of the almirah. The PUNJAB & HARYANA CHANDIGARH 29529-2026(O&M) decision: 27.05.2026 ...Petitioner ...Respondent VINOD S. BHARDWAJ Amandeep Kaur, Advocates Punjab. been filed under Section 483 of for grant of regular bail to the 21.05.2025 registered under [Section 317(2) added later on] of Police Station City Hoshiarpur, was registered on the statement present in the kitchen of her upper floor of the premises. Upon disturbance, she found two persons persons, whose face was muffled shirt, caught hold of her by the wearing a white-coloured T-shirt, was further alleged that the complainant into a room, tied her to a The complainant further alleged SUMIT SINGH GUSAIN 2026.05.27 19:07 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document 2 211 CRM-M-29529-2026(O&M) that when she informed the accused persons that the keys were with her husband, the accused wearing the orange-coloured T-shirt gave a fist blow to her abdomen, whereas the other accused threw chilli powder into her eyes and face. Thereafter, upon the complainant handing over the keys, the accused persons opened the almirah and removed cash amounting to Rs.1,40,000/-. It was further alleged that the accused persons thereafter searched another room in the house in search of valuables and subsequently fled from the spot through the staircase. The complainant thereafter informed her husband about the occurrence and upon checking the CCTV footage installed in the vicinity, the accused persons were identified on the basis of the clothes worn by them and were residents of the same mohalla and nearby locality. It is further the case of the prosecution that pursuant to the disclosure statements suffered by the present accused/applicant and his co-accused during investigation, a recovery of Rs.5,000/- was effected. Consequently, vide DDR No. 19 dated 24.05.2025, offence punishable under Section 317(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita was added during the course of investigation. 3. Learned counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner contends that the petitioner is in custody in the present case since 23.05.2025 and has already undergone an actual custody of more than one year. It is submitted that even as per the FIR, the person who entered into the house of the complainant to commit robbery had covered his face and threw chilli powder at her, however, there is no evidence as to under what circumstances and in what manner the petitioner has been linked to the commission of the aforesaid offence. He further contends that T-shirt alleged to have been worn SUMIT SINGH GUSAIN 2026.05.27 19:07 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document 3 211 CRM-M-29529-2026(O&M) by the petitioner and as seen from the CCTV footage has not been recovered in the present case, hence, the involvement of the petitioner is highly suspect. It is further submitted that the offences in question are triable by the Court of Magistrate and that no witness out of 11 witnesses cited by the prosecution has been examined so far and as such, conclusion of trial shall take long. 4. Learned State Counsel on the other hand contends that the petitioner has criminal antecedents and that he was involved in other cases under the NDPS Act. He further contends that 02 witnesses have been given up, hence, only 09 witnesses remain to be examined. He, however, does not dispute that the offences in hand are triable by the Court of Magistrate and the petitioner has already undergone an actual custody of more than one year. 5. I have heard learned counsel appearing on behalf of the respective parties and have gone through the documents appended along with the present petition. 6. Without commenting on the merits of the case and taking into consideration the period of custody already undergone by the petitioner in a magisterial trial, the fact that arguable issues with respect to involvement of the petitioner would arise for consideration of the trial court as well as the stage of trial, I deem it appropriate to allow the present petition. 7. The instant petition is allowed and the petitioner is ordered to be released on regular bail on his furnishing requisite bail bond/surety bond to the satisfaction of the trial Court/Duty Magistrate, concerned. 8. It is made clear that the petitioner shall not extend any threat SUMIT SINGH GUSAIN 2026.05.27 19:07 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document 4 211 CRM-M-29529-2026(O&M) and shall not influence any prosecution witnesses in any manner directly or indirectly. 9. The observation made hereinabove shall not be construed as an expression on the merits of the case and the Trial Court shall decide the case on the basis of available material. 10. Pending application(s), if any, shall stand disposed of. 27.05.2026 (VINOD S. BHARDWAJ) Sumit Gusain JUDGE Whether speaking/reasoned : Yes/No Whether reportable : Yes/No SUMIT SINGH GUSAIN 2026.05.27 19:07 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document