IN THE HIGH COURT OF HIMACHAL PRADESH, SHIMLA Cr. MP (M) No. 2788 of 2025 Reserved on: 16.01.2026 Date of Decision:23.01.2026 Abhay Pisal ...Petitioner Versus State of Himachal Pradesh ...Respondent Coram Hon’ble Mr Justice Rakesh Kainthla, Vacation Judge. Whether approved for reporting?1 For the Petitioner : Mr Karan Singh Kanwar, Advocate. For the Respondent/State : Mr Lokender Kutlehria, Addl. Advocate General. Rakesh Kainthla, Vacation Judge The petitioner has filed the present petition for seeking regular bail in F.I.R. No. 121 of 2025, dated 06.07.2025, registered in Police Station Dharampur, District Solan, H.P., for the commission of offences punishable under Sections 420, 465, 467, 468 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 25(1)(A) of the Arms Act, 1959. 1 Whether reporters of Local Papers may be allowed to see the judgment? Yes. 2 2. It has been asserted that the petitioner was posted as an Officer Commanding, 49 Field Workshop Company, 614 EME Battalion at Dagshai, District Solan, HP. A case was registered against him in which some documents and a gun were recovered from his residence. The petitioner remained in custody for about 75 days. He was suspended, and his suspension was revoked on 23.07.2025. The petitioner is holding the rank of Lieutenant in the Indian Army, and he has maintained an exemplary service record throughout his career. False allegations were made against him. The petitioner has not committed any offence. He is the sole earner of the family. He would abide by the terms and conditions, which the Court may impose; hence, it was prayed that the petition be allowed and the petitioner be released on bail. 3. The petition is opposed by a filing of a status report asserting that an F.I.R. was lodged in the Police Station on behalf of the Union of India, stating that the petitioner possessed a driving license, Ration Card, Aadhar Card, PAN Card and Armed Forces Identity Card, all with his photograph, but in the name of Tahir Mustafa. He also possessed a 12 Bore Gun without a license. This material was seized by the Board of Officers while 3 conducting the inquiry regarding the petitioner being in contact with a Pakistani Intelligence Operative. The matter regarding the forged documents and a 12-bore Gun without a license falls within the purview of the Civil Agencies. Therefore, it was prayed that an action be taken in the matter. The police registered the F.I.R., seized the documents and recorded the statements of witnesses. It was found after the investigation that the petitioner was in possession of forged documents and a 12 bore unlicensed gun. The petitioner claimed that he had prepared the documents during the covert operations when he was posted at Jammu and Kashmir. He had retained these documents even after his transfer, for which he could not provide any justification. The charge sheet was filed before the Court. The documents and the results of analysis are awaited, and a supplementary charge sheet will be filed after their receipt. The matter was listed before the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Solan, on 15.12.2025 for the office report. Hence, the status report. 4. I have heard Mr Karan Singh Kanwar, learned counsel for the petitioner and Mr Lokender Kutlehria, learned Additional. Advocate General for the respondent/State. 4 5. Mr Karan Singh Kanwar, learned counsel for the petitioner, submitted that the petitioner is innocent and that he was falsely implicated in the case. He had prepared the documents at the instance of his superiors during his posting at Jammu and Kashmir. The petitioner was exonerated by the Army Authorities during the inquiry conducted by them. The petitioner was reinstated in the services after the conclusion of the inquiry, which shows his innocence. The police have filed the charge sheet, and no fruitful purpose would be served by detaining the petitioner in custody; hence, he prayed that the present petition be allowed and the petitioner be released on bail. 6. Mr. Lokender Kutlheria, learned Additional Advocate General for the respondent/State submitted that the petitioner was found in possession of the forged documents and the unlicensed revolver. He could not provide any satisfactory explanation for their possession. His explanation that he had possessed these documents during his posting at Jammu and Kashmir is not supported by the fact that he had kept these documents even after his transfer. The offences alleged against 5 the petitioner are heinous; therefore, he prayed that the present petition be dismissed. 7. I have given considerable thought to the submissions made at the bar and have gone through the records carefully. 8. The parameters for granting bail were considered by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Pinki v. State of U.P., (2025) 7 SCC 314: 2025 SCC OnLine SC 781, wherein it was observed at page 380: (i) Broad principles for the grant of bail 56. In Gudikanti Narasimhulu v. High Court of A.P., (1978) 1 SCC 240: 1978 SCC (Cri) 115, Krishna Iyer, J., while elaborating on the content of Article 21 of the Constitution of India in the context of personal liberty of a person under trial, has laid down the key factors that should be considered while granting bail, which are extracted as under: (SCC p. 244, paras 7-9) “7. It is thus obvious that the nature of the charge is the vital factor, and the nature of the evidence is also pertinent. The punishment to which the party may be liable, if convicted or conviction is confirmed, also bears upon the issue. 8. Another relevant factor is whether the course of justice would be thwarted by him who seeks the benignant jurisdiction of the Court to be freed for the time being. [Patrick Devlin, “The Criminal Prosecution in England” (Oxford University Press, London 1960) p. 75 — Modern Law Review, Vol. 81, Jan. 1968, p. 54.] 9. Thus, the legal principles and practice validate the Court considering the likelihood of the applicant interfering with witnesses for the prosecution or otherwise polluting the process of justice. It is not only traditional but rational, in this 6 context, to enquire into the antecedents of a man who is applying for bail to find whether he has a bad record, particularly a record which suggests that he is likely to commit serious offences while on bail. In regard to habituals, it is part of criminological history that a thoughtless bail order has enabled the bailee to exploit the opportunity to inflict further crimes on the members of society. Bail discretion, on the basis of evidence about the criminal record of a defendant, is therefore not an exercise in irrelevance.” (emphasis supplied) 57. In Prahlad Singh Bhati v. State (NCT of Delhi), (2001) 4 SCC 280: 2001 SCC (Cri) 674, this Court highlighted various aspects that the courts should keep in mind while dealing with an application seeking bail. The same may be extracted as follows: (SCC pp. 284-85, para 8) “8. The jurisdiction to grant bail has to be exercised on the basis of well-settled principles, having regard to the circumstances of each case and not in an arbitrary manner. While granting the bail, the court has to keep in mind the nature of accusations, the nature of evidence in support thereof, the severity of the punishment which conviction will entail, the character, behaviour, means and standing of the accused, circumstances which are peculiar to the accused, reasonable possibility of securing the presence of the accused at the trial, reasonable apprehension of the witnesses being tampered with, the larger interests of the public or State and similar other considerations. It has also to be kept in mind that for the purposes of granting the bail the legislature has used the words “reasonable grounds for believing” instead of “the evidence” which means the court dealing with the grant of bail can only satisfy it (sic itself) as to whether there is a genuine case against the accused and that the prosecution will be able to produce prima facie evidence in support of the charge.” (emphasis supplied) 7 58. This Court in Ram Govind Upadhyay v. Sudarshan Singh, (2002) 3 SCC 598: 2002 SCC (Cri) 688, speaking through Banerjee, J., emphasised that a court exercising discretion in matters of bail has to undertake the same judiciously. In highlighting that bail should not be granted as a matter of course, bereft of cogent reasoning, this Court observed as follows: (SCC p. 602, para 3) “3. Grant of bail, though being a discretionary order, but, however, calls for the exercise of such a discretion in a judicious manner and not as a matter of course. An order for bail bereft of any cogent reason cannot be sustained. Needless to record, however, that the grant of bail is dependent upon the contextual facts of the matter being dealt with by the court and facts do always vary from case to case. While placement of the accused in the society, though it may be considered by itself, cannot be a guiding factor in the matter of grant of bail, and the same should always be coupled with other circumstances warranting the grant of bail. The nature of the offence is one of the basic considerations for the grant of bail — the more heinous is the crime, the greater is the chance of rejection of the bail, though, however, dependent on the factual matrix of the matter.” (emphasis supplied) 59. In Kalyan Chandra Sarkar v. Rajesh Ranjan, (2004) 7 SCC 528: 2004 SCC (Cri) 1977, this Court held that although it is established that a court considering a bail application cannot undertake a detailed examination of evidence and an elaborate discussion on the merits of the case, yet the court is required to indicate the prima facie reasons justifying the grant of bail. 60. In Prasanta Kumar Sarkar v. Ashis Chatterjee, (2010) 14 SCC 496: (2011) 3 SCC (Cri) 765, this Court observed that where a High Court has granted bail mechanically, the said order would suffer from the vice of non-application of mind, rendering it illegal. This Court held as under with regard to the circumstances under which an order granting bail may be set aside. In doing so, the factors 8 which ought to have guided the Court's decision to grant bail have also been detailed as under: (SCC p. 499, para 9) “9. … It is trite that this Court does not, normally, interfere with an order passed by the High Court granting or rejecting bail to the accused. However, it is equally incumbent upon the High Court to exercise its discretion judiciously, cautiously and strictly in compliance with the basic principles laid down in a plethora of decisions of this Court on the point. It is well settled that, among other circumstances, the factors to be borne in mind while considering an application for bail are: (i) whether there is any prima facie or reasonable ground to believe that the accused had committed the offence; (ii) nature and gravity of the accusation; (iii) severity of the punishment in the event of conviction; (iv) danger of the accused absconding or fleeing, if released on bail; (v) character, behaviour, means, position and standing of the accused; (vi) likelihood of the offence being repeated; (vii) reasonable apprehension of the witnesses being influenced; and (viii) danger, of course, of justice being thwarted by grant of bail.” (emphasis supplied) xxxxxxx 62. One of the judgments of this Court on the aspect of application of mind and requirement of judicious exercise of discretion in arriving at an order granting bail to the accused is Brijmani Devi v. Pappu Kumar, (2022) 4 SCC 497 : (2022) 2 SCC (Cri) 170, wherein a three-Judge Bench of this Court, while setting aside an unreasoned and casual order (Pappu Kumar v. State of Bihar, 2021 SCC OnLine Pat 2856 and Pappu Singh v. State of Bihar, 2021 SCC OnLine Pat 2857) of the High Court granting bail to the accused, observed as follows: (Brijmani Devi v. Pappu Kumar, 9 (2022) 4 SCC 497 : (2022) 2 SCC (Cri) 170]), SCC p. 511, para 35) “35. While we are conscious of the fact that liberty of an individual is an invaluable right, at the same time while considering an application for bail courts cannot lose sight of the serious nature of the accusations against an accused and the facts that have a bearing in the case, particularly, when the accusations may not be false, frivolous or vexatious in nature but are supported by adequate material brought on record so as to enable a court to arrive at a prima facie conclusion. While considering an application for the grant of bail, a prima facie conclusion must be supported by reasons and must be arrived at after having regard to the vital facts of the case brought on record. Due consideration must be given to facts suggestive of the nature of crime, the criminal antecedents of the accused, if any, and the nature of punishment that would follow a conviction vis-à-vis the offence(s) alleged against an accused.” (emphasis supplied). 9. The present petition has to be decided as per the parameters laid down by the Hon’ble Supreme Court. 10. The status report mentions that the petitioner was found in possession of the forged documents and an unlicensed revolver. All these offences are triable by a Magistrate. The offences would not become grave simply because the petitioner happened to be an Army Officer. The petition specifically mentions that the petitioner was reinstated by the Army Authorities, clearly suggesting that he was not found guilty under the Army Act and the regulations framed thereunder; 10 therefore, the petitioner cannot be kept behind bars simply because he happened to be an Army Official. 11. The status report also mentions that the police have filed the charge sheet before the Court, and the matter is pending for the office report. The report is awaited, and a supplementary charge sheet is to be filed after the receipt of the report. The petitioner cannot influence the report of the analysis, and no fruitful purpose would be served by detaining the petitioner in custody. 12. The status report does not mention any reason or the pre-trial detention of the petitioner; therefore, further pre-trial detention of the petitioner is not justified. 13. In view of the above, the present petition is allowed, and the petitioner is ordered to be released on bail in the sum of ₹1,00,000/- with one surety of the like amount to the satisfaction of the learned Trial Court. While on bail, the petitioner will abide by the following terms and conditions: - (I) The petitioner will not intimidate the witnesses, nor will he influence any evidence in any manner whatsoever; (II) The petitioner shall attend the trial on each and every hearing and will not seek unnecessary adjournments; 11 (III) The petitioner will not leave the present address for a continuous period of seven days without furnishing the address of the intended visit to the SHO concerned, the Police Station concerned and the Trial Court; (IV) The petitioner will surrender her passport, if any, to the Court; and (V) The petitioner will furnish her mobile number and social media contact to the Police and the Court and will abide by the summons/notices received from the Police/Court through SMS/WhatsApp/Social Media Account. In case of any change in the mobile number or social media accounts, the same will be intimated to the Police/Court within five days from the date of the change. 14. It is expressly made clear that in case of violation of any of these conditions, the prosecution will have the right to file a petition for cancellation of the bail. 15. The petition stands accordingly disposed of. A copy of this order be sent to the Jail Superintendent, District Jail Solan, District Solan, H.P. and the learned Trial Court by FASTER. 16. The observations made hereinabove are regarding the disposal of this petition and will have no bearing whatsoever on the case's merits. (Rakesh Kainthla) Vacation Judge 23rd January, 2026 (Gaurav Rawat) Digitally signed by GAURAV SINGH DN: C=IN, O=HIGH COURT OF HIMACHAL PRADESH SHIMLA, Phone=b615aae6b839bd7695619d205a06 49faa3f10ee78fd5fc7d356ef93266e0ead9, PostalCode=171001, S=Himachal Pradesh, SERIALNUMBER=97f5851e94d1ce4a9d9 b2419311e660ac9051e6298a507d8e42c1 1fe77a95002, CN=GAURAV SINGH Reason: I am the author of this document Location: Date: 2026-01-23 15:55:21 GAURAV SINGH