AVTAR SINGH Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This order will dispose of Criminal Misc. Petition No. 27806-M of 2000 and 28225-M of 2000 which have been filed by Manmohan Singh and Avtar Singh who are Prop. of M/s. Grewal Rice and General Mills, Nihal Singh Wala. The case against them is that the Punjab State Ware Housing Corporation is from time to time storing with them bags of paddy. Out of the total number of bags which were stocked in the mill, 27948 bags were missing and the petitioners are not able to explain as to what has been done with these bags. The petitioners had relied upon a clearance certificate which is alleged to have been misused by Inderjit Singh, Manager of the Corporation on 27.8.1999 indicating that no balance of paddy bag belonging to the Punjab State Ware Housing Corporation was lying in the stock of M/s Grewal Rice and General Mills.

(2.) According to the State, Inderjit Singh who has since been arrested had denied his signatures on the document dated 27.8.1999, Annexure P.5 and his admitted signatures have been sent to Forensic Science Laboratory Chandigarh for comparison on 17.8.2000.

(3.) In this view of the matter, till such a stage when report of the Forensic Science Laboratory is received a case is made out for granting interim bail to the petitioners in case they shall make themselves available before the investigating agency on 28.8.2000 at 10 A.M. and on any subsequent date to be fixed by it and in case they do so, the applicants will be admitted to interim bail by the arresting officer on his furnishing bail bonds to his satisfaction subject to the conditions.