HEMJINDER SINGH Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Prayer in this petition filed under Sec. 483 of the BNSS, 2023, is for grant of regular bail to the petitioner in FIR No.352 dtd. 15/12/2024 registered under Ss. 308(5), 126(2), 127(2) of BNS, 2023, Sec. 25 of the Arms Act, 1959 (Ss. 311 and 238 of BNS added later on) at Police Station Sohana, District S.A.S. Nagar (Mohali).

(2.) The brief facts of the case are that on 3/12/2024 one Askaranjeet Singh, a resident of Ambala, was returning from a meal at a roadside dhaba on Landran-Banur road, and was heading towards Sector 104, Mohali, when he was suddenly intercepted by a white Verna car. It was dark, so he couldn"t catch the registration number. Two men got out of the car, one was holding a stick and the other Sikh man, was holding a pistol in his hands. They forced Askaranjeet into the backseat of his own car at gunpoint, with the armed man sitting beside him, while the other took control of the vehicle. As they drove towards village Sukhgarh, they switched him into their Verna car and began robbing him. They snatched his purse, which had ?5,500 in cash, his driver's license, car registration documents, Aadhaar card, and mobile phone. Under pressure, Askaranjeet was made to share his GPay password, and ?40,000 was transferred to an account linked to someone named Lovepreet Singh. When his balance ran low, the assailants forced him to call his brother-in-law, from whom he managed to get ?50,000 transferred, which they then stole via another GPay transaction linked to mobile No.7719790806. Eventually, they dropped him off near CP-67 Mall on Airport Road in Mohali, and handed back his phone and threatened to kill him. Thereafter, the impugned FIR was registered.

(3.) Learned counsel for the petitioner, inter alia, contends that the petitioner has been falsely implicated in the FIR (supra) and no specific role has been attributed to the petitioner. There was a monetary dispute between the petitioner and the complainant, which has been converted into the FIR (supra) with the allegations of extortion, only to aggravate the offence and to make it a non-bailable offence. The petitioner is having clean antecedents and not involved in any other case. Further, during the pendency of the present petition, the dispute between the petitioner and the complainant has been amicably resolved and the petitioner has paid Rs.94,000.00 to the complainant and a compromise has been effected between the parties.