Criminal Misc. No. M-17640 of 2010 1 IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH Criminal Misc. No. M-17640 of 2010 Date of decision : 29.10.2010 Mohd. Ashraf @ Chikni ....Petitioner V/s State of Punjab ....Respondent BEFORE : HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE RAJAN GUPTA Present: Mr. Vishal Deep Goyal, Advocate for the petitioner. Mr. J.S. Sandhu, AAG Punjab. RAJAN GUPTA J. (ORAL) This is a petition filed under Section 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure seeking regular bail in a case registered against the petitioner vide FIR No. 139 dated 04.11.2008 under Sections 307, 326, 325, 324, 323, 148 & 149 IPC at Police Station Malerkotla, District Sangrur. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that petitioner has been in custody for 1 year and 10 months and trial has made little headway. He submits that no useful purpose would be served by detaining the petitioner in custody any longer as trial may still take some time to conclude. Learned State counsel has opposed the prayer for bail on the ground that petitioner is involved in number of cases and his co-accused has absconded. Criminal Misc. No. M-17640 of 2010 2 I have heard learned counsel for the parties and considered the matter. In view of the long period of incarceration of the petitioner pending trial, I am of the considered view that no useful purpose would be served by detaining the petitioner in custody any longer. Without expressing any opinion on the merits of the case, I deem it appropriate to grant regular bail to the petitioner. Accordingly, the petition is allowed and petitioner is ordered to be enlarged on bail to the satisfaction of Chief Judicial Magistrate/Duty Magistrate, Sangrur. This, however, will be subject to heavy surety and the condition that petitioner shall appear before the SHO of the local police station in the first week of each month, after being enlarged on bail. October 29, 2010 (RAJAN GUPTA) Ajay JUDGE