The Punjab and Haryana High Court refused to grant anticipatory bail to the petitioner who was allegedly accused of cheating and allured the complainant, that he could get his son a job in Indian Army for a sum of Rs. 5 lakhs.

The Bench of Justice Anoop Chitkara observed that “getting government jobs is not just a dream but also a sign of being a winner and success, making the end more important than the means. Thugs have started exploiting this weakness and getting easy prey. In the entirety of the social backdrop and the gravity of the offense, the petitioner does not make out a case for anticipatory bail.”

Advocate B.S. Bhalla appeared for the petitioner and AAG Aditya Kapoor appeared for the State.

In this case, the petitioner, told the complainant that he had retired from Indian Army and allured the complainant and his family into paying the petitioner a sum of Rs. 3 lakhs for securing a job in the Indian Army for his son. Later, the complainant filed the complaint. The petitioner, apprehending his arrest, in the complaint filed against him, had preferred the Anticipatory Bail application before the High Court.

The Court noted that the petitioner and his accomplice thugs had successfully conned the complainant and his family.

The Court further bashed the complainant that he bypassed the normal recruitment process and tried to secure a job for his son through cheating and illegal means.

The Court further explained that the reason as to why people were easy prey for such thugs was that “there is a massive difference in the salaries of equivalent jobs at the lower rung, in the government sector and private sector, and also with the highest level of job security, irrespective of performance in the government sector and productivity linked job that too at the will of the employer in the private sector.”

Therefore, the Court held that custodial interrogation was required to unearth the modus-operandi.

Accordingly, the Court dismissed the anticipatory bail application.

Cause Title- Ajit Singh v. State of Punjab

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