Cr.Misc. 27382 M of 2008 1 IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB & HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH Cr.Misc. 27382 M of 2008 DATE OF DECISION :21.1.2009 Mandip Singh and others ......PETITIONER VERSUS State of Punjab ......RESPONDENT PRESENT: Mr. KS Kahlon, Advocate Ms.Rajni Gupta, DAG, Pb. Mr. JBS Gill, Advocate M.M.S.BEDI,J. The petitioners seek the concession of pre-arrest bail in a case registered at the instance of Sita Devi alleging that on 10.9.2008 she was abused in the name of her caste and was assaulted by 9 persons. Since out of the said 9 persons, 6 persons belong to Scheduled Caste, as such they were granted the concession of pre-arrest bail by the court of Sessions. So far as the petitioners are concerned, there is no allegation against petitioners 1 and 3 i.e Mandip Singh and Sukhwinder Singh of having abused the complainant in the name of her caste. The complainant in the present case happens to be a Sarpanch of the village. There are specific allegations against petitioner No.2 Major Singh of having abused the complainant in the name of her caste. Learned counsel for the petitioners has contended that one Balbir Singh on the side of the petitioners had been inflicted injuries by the complainant party in the same occurrence, as such the petitioners can be Cr.Misc. 27382 M of 2008 2 granted the concession of bail. In support of his contention, he has referred to the MLR of Balbir Singh, who had been inflicted injuries by the complainant party. After hearing learned counsel for the parties, I am of the opinion that prima facie no offence u/s 3 of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act,1989 is made out against petitioners 1 and 3 as the abuse in the name of the caste is attributed to petitioner No.2. Accordingly, the petition qua petitioner 1 and 3 i.e. Mandip Singh and Sukhwinder Singh is allowed and it is ordered that in case of arrest of the said petitioners, they will be admitted to bail to the satisfaction of the arresting officer subject to the condition that they will appear before the investigating officer as and when required by the police and will not tamper with evidence or hamper the investigation at any stage. So far as petitioner No.2 Major Singh is concerned, I do not deem it appropriate to enter into the controversy whether the FIR has been lodged with mala fide intention or that the complainant party was the aggressor but on account of provisions of Section 18 of the Act, no case is made out to grant him the concession of pre-arrest bail. Petition qua him is dismissed. However, it is observed that dismissal of the instant petition will not be a bar for the trial court or the Illaqa Magistrate to grant the concession of bail to him u/s 439 Cr.P.C. in case he surrenders before the said court. January 21 ,2006 ( M.M.S.BEDI ) TSM JUDGE