In the High Court of Punjab and Haryana at Chandigarh ...... Criminal Misc. No.M-10172 of 2009 ..... Date of decision:17.4.2009 Piara Sigh .....Petitioner v. State of Punjab .....Respondent .... Present: Mr. Ramesh Sharma, Advocate for the petitioner. ..... S.S. Saron, J. Heard learned counsel for the petitioner. The petitioner seeks pre-arrest bail in a case registered against him under Section 61 of the Punjab Excise Act, 1914 on 31.12.1996. The petitioner has not been appearing in the case pending before the trial Court since 28.1.1998. Thereafter, it is on 7.3.2009 that he filed an application seeking pre-arrest bail. Learned counsel for the petitioner has submitted that the petitioner was informed by the Clerk of the counsel before the trial Court that he has been acquitted. The petitioner had believed him and, therefore, felt no necessity of further verification from the counsel or from the Court. After giving my thoughtful consideration to the matter, it may be noticed that the learned Additional Sessions Judge vide his order dated 16.3.2009 while declining the bail to the petitioner has observed that the petitioner had appeared before the trial Court on 6.11.1997 on which date the challan was also presented in his presence. Thereafter, he did not appear Cr. Misc. No.M-10172 of 2009 [2] since 28.1.1998. The petitioner, it was observed, had appeared after a long gap of more than ten years. Accordingly, his application was dismissed. The reasoning given by the counsel for the petitioner that the Clerk of the counsel had informed the petitioner that he had been acquitted is hardly of any substance. He has been absconding in the case for the last ten years. In the circumstances, no ground for grant of pre-arrest bail is made out. The criminal miscellaneous petition is dismissed. April 17, 2009. (S.S. Saron) Judge *hsp*