Punjab & Haryana High Court Denies Bail To Man Accused of Parading Women With Placard Around Neck Reading ‘I Am A Thief, I Confess My Guilt’
The faces of the victims were blackened to malign their image, one of them was a minor girl, and their video was made viral on social media.
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has dismissed a petition seeking pre-arrest bail by a person who was accused of parading three girls, an elderly woman, and a boy with blackened faces in the streets with placards stating “I am a thief, I confess my guilt,” and making their video viral on social media.
A Single Bench of Justice Namit Kumar stated, “…victims were paraded in the market openly and thereafter their video was made viral on the social media also, makes it clearly discernible that the act of the accused persons including the petitioner was not an acceptable human act by any stretch of imagination rather it was an act of “Taliban-style punishment” by taking the law in their own hand and not realizing that such an act may affect and tarnish the social image of the victims, out of whom some are girls and even minor…”
The Petitioner was represented by Advocate P.S. Ahluwalia, while the Additional Advocate General, Punjab, Yuvraj Singh Tiwana appeared for the Respondents.
Brief Facts
An FIR was registered by a Sub Inspector against the Petitioner, alleging that she had been informed by a special informer that a video had become viral on social media, which contained three girls, an elderly woman, and a boy with blackened faces, who could be seen with white placards hanging around their necks on which “I am a thief, I confess my guilt” was written.
It was further alleged that the said individuals were being paraded around in the streets by some unknown persons. The said individuals were accused of stealing clothes by the owner of a factory. The act of hanging placards around their necks with the writing “I am a thief, I confess my guilt,” making their video viral on social media, and maligning their image by the factory owner, manager, worker, and other unknown persons attract the commission of offenses under Sections 127, 356, 74, 75, 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS).
Petitioner, apprehending his arrest based on the FIR, approached this Court under Section 482 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) seeking pre-arrest bail.
The Petitioner contended that he was innocent and had been falsely implicated, and that all the offences he had been accused of committing were bailable, with the exception of Section 74 and Section 75 of the BNS. He further contended that the co-accused had been granted regular bail by the Sessions Court.
The Respondent contended that the Petitioner was the main accused and that custodial interrogation was required in the case, as the mobile phone and NVR/DVR installed in his factory were required to be recovered from him.
Reasoning of the Court
Adverting to the status report filed by the Respondent, the Court noted that while rejecting the pre-arrest bail of the petitioner, the Sessions Judge had specifically recorded that one of the victims was a minor and that and application had been given to the police for addition of offences under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO Act).
The Bench stated, “ After considering the above facts and circumstances as well as the material on record, this Court is of the considered opinion that the specific allegations that the petitioner along with co-accused have blackened the faces of the victims despite the fact that one the victim was minor, who were working in his factory; cardboards were hanged around the neck of the victim by writing incriminating material “I am a thief, I confess my guilt” on white placards; victims were paraded in the market openly and thereafter their video was made viral on the social media also, makes it clearly discernible that the act of the accused persons including the petitioner was not an acceptable human act by any stretch of imagination rather it was an act of “Taliban-style punishment” by taking the law in their own hand and not realizing that such an act may affect and tarnish the social image of the victims, out of whom some are girls and even minor, and this act may also spoil their future by lowering their reputation and image before the society at large, which is a serious concern.”
The Court noted that the investigation was in its initial stage and that the Petitioner was trying to evade the law. It further observed that granting bail may influence or intimidate witnesses and destroy evidence.
Consequently, the Court dismissed the petition but stated that if the Petitioner surrendered before the trial Court within 10 days and filed a regular bail application, it would be considered and decided in accordance with the law as expeditiously as possible.
Cause Title: Parvinder Singh v. State of Punjab (Neutral Citation No: 2025:PHHC:035508)
Appearance:
Petitioner: Advocates P.S. Ahluwalia, Jasraj Singh, Advocate, Jaiveer Singh
Respondents: Additional Advocate General Yuvraj Singh Tiwana; Advocate Vishavjeet Singh Rishi
