After he was arrested by the Delhi Police under the Unlawful Practices (Prevention) Act, for allegedly having relations with the Khalistani Liberation Force, Lovepreet spent 150 days in judicial custody.
Last week, the Delhi High Court granted bail to Raj Kumar, alias Lovepreet, who was arrested last year for alleged links with extremist organizations in Khalistan.
On June 16, 2020, a First Information Report (FIR) was registered against Lovepreet before he was detained on June 18. He was detained in New Delhi’s Mandoli Jail until February 11. At the time of filing the petition before the High Court, he had spent a total of 150 days in custody.
On furnishing a personal bond of Rs. 25,000 with two assurances of the same sum, Justice Suresh Kumar Kait issued bail to Lovepreet.
On behalf of Lovepreet, it was claimed that the fundamental right to apply for bail had been refused and that there was an unreasonable pause on the part of the Delhi Police in filing the charge sheet. The 90-day detention term and the ensuing termination of the inquiry period expired on 11 November 2020, it was alleged. However, the charge-sheet was not filed until that day.
Thus, under Section 167(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CRPC), Lovepreet filed an application for default bail, which was rejected by the Special Judge on 17 November last year.
Furthermore, it was argued that, on fair and cogent grounds, the extension of the inquiry time was not granted. As there was deliberate concealment of evidence before the trial court, the order of extension was passed and hence it was non-est in the eyes of law, counsel for Lovepreet argued before the High Court.
After considering the evidence on hand, the Court observed that, regarding the fact that the penalty was received by the Chief of Police on 5 November, the charge sheet had not been submitted during the extended investigation duration.
To depend on the observations set out in Hitendra Vishnu Thakur and Ors by the Supreme Court. The Court held, v. State of Maharashtra, that also on November 11 of last year, Lovepreet was entitled to default bail. Accordingly, the Court ordered that he be released immediately on parole, after furnishing personal and security assets.
