RACHHPAL SINGH Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB AND ANOTHER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Prayer in this petition is for quashing the FIR No.15 dated 20.04.2007 registered under Sections 447, 379, 506, 148 and 149 of the Indian Penal Code (in short 'IPC') at Police Station Kotli Surat Malhi, District Batala.

(2.) Counsel for the petitioner has submitted that after registration of the FIR, 05 of the co-accused of the petitioners namely Anoop Singh (since deceased), Gagandeep Singh, Rachhpal Singh (the present petitioner), Sucha Singh, Karandeep Singh and Harinder Singh @ Buri, had faced the full length trial and the trial Court has acquitted the co-accused of the petitioner by passing the detailed judgment dated 16.12013. Counsel for the petitioner has further referred to the operative part of the judgment passed by the trial Court to submit that while acquitting the co-accused, the trial Court has even appreciated the evidence of the prosecution viz-a-viz, the petitioner Rachhpal Singh, who is arrayed as accused No.3 in the array of the accused in the judgment of the trial Court. The operative part of the judgment passed by the trial Court is reproduced as below:-

(3.) Counsel for the petitioner has further submitted that, at one point of time, the petitioner was declared a proclaimed offender, however, later on, he had challenged the order dated 15.04.2010, vide which the petitioner has been declared as proclaimed offender, by way of filing CRM-M No.37593 of 2015, in which the operation of the impugned order was stayed and, thereafter, the petitioner was granted the concession of anticipatory bail vide order dated 29.01.2016 passed by the Additional Sessions Judge, Gurdaspur (Annexure P4).