LiveLaw Punjab & Haryana High Court Monthly Digest: September 2026

Absence Of Medical Certificate Can't Defeat Plea For Virtual Evidence Recording Due To Physical Infirmity: P&H High Court

Case: DALJITINDER KAUR @ DALJIT INDER ARORA vs AMARINDER SINGH BRAR AND ORS

2026 LiveLaw (PH) 304

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has held that trial court cannot reject a person's application for recording evidence through video conferencing solely on the ground that no medical certificate was furnished for citing physical infirmity.

P&H High Court Orders Acquittal In 26-Year-Old Judicial File Theft Case, Says Suspicion Is Not Proof

Title: Satnam Singh (since deceased) through his LR Rajwinder Kaur v. State of Punjab

2026 LiveLaw (PH) 305

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has acquitted the accused in a case involving the theft of a judicial file from the Court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate, holding that the prosecution had, at best, raised suspicion but failed to establish a complete and unbroken chain of circumstantial evidence connecting the accused to the offence. [2026 LiveLaw (PH) 304]

'School Bus Driver Owes Higher Duty To Drive Safely': P&H High Court Refuses To Reduce Sentence For Rash Driving

Case Title: Manpreet Singh v. State of Punjab

2026 LiveLaw (PH) 306

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has refused to reduce the sentence of a school bus driver convicted for rash and negligent driving after the bus he was driving overturned, leaving several school children, teachers and the conductor injured.

Immediate CCTV Access Must Be Given To Warrant Officer Inspecting Police Station For 'Illegal Detention': P&H High Court Issues Directions

Case Title: Lal Chand v. State of Punjab and others

2026 LiveLaw (PH) 307

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed that a Warrant Officer appointed by the Court in a habeas corpus matter must be given immediate and unhindered access to CCTV systems and relevant recordings when visiting a police station to verify allegations of illegal detention.

Re-Investigation Can't Nullify Subsisting Acquittal, Even If Trial Court Pronounced Judgment In Breach Of Stay: P&H High Court

Case Title: Salwinder Singh v. State of Punjab and others

2026 LiveLaw (PH) 308

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has held that a judgment of acquittal cannot be ignored in collateral proceedings merely because it was pronounced in defiance of a stay order.

The Court held that invalidity of such an acquittal must first be established before a competent forum and that a court-ordered re-investigation, without an express direction setting aside the acquittal or directing re-trial, cannot be used to summon already-acquitted persons afresh under Section 300 Cr.P.C.

Accused Entitled To Default Bail When Extension Of NDPS Investigation Granted Without Notice Or Hearing: P&H High Court

Title: Akash v. State of Haryana; Vishal v. State of Haryana; Vishal and another v. State of Haryana

2026 LiveLaw (PH) 309

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has granted default bail to two accused in an NDPS case, holding that an order extending the statutory period for completing investigation beyond 180 days cannot be relied upon against an accused who was neither noticed nor given an opportunity to oppose the extension — even if the extension application was framed as a composite one covering all co-accused in the same FIR.

P&H High Court Quashes DSP's Dismissal Over Lawrence Bishnoi Jail Interview, Holds Alleged Non-Cooperation Can't Justify Dispensing With Enquiry

Case Title: Gursher Singh Sandhu v. State of Punjab & others

2026 LiveLaw (PH) 310

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has quashed the dismissal of a Deputy Superintendent of Police, who was removed from service by invoking the extraordinary power under Article 311(2)(b) of the Constitution in connection with the widely reported jail interview of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, holding that alleged non-cooperation and evasion of a charge-sheet, even if true cannot by itself satisfy the constitutional threshold for dispensing with a regular departmental enquiry.

25 Criminal Cases Against Accused Can't Be Sole Reason To Deny Bail After Prolonged Custody: P&H High Court

AMRIK SINGH @ AMRIKA v. STATE OF HARYANA

2026 LiveLaw (PH) 311

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has granted regular bail to an accused in a car theft-related case registered under Sections 379/411 IPC, holding that an accused's involvement in numerous other criminal cases cannot, by itself, be the sole ground for denying bail.

PMLA | Abuse Of Fiduciary Structures Warrants Greater Circumspection: P&H High Court Denies Bail In ₹236 Cr Bank Fraud Case

Title: Sandeep Gupta v. Directorate of Enforcement

2026 LiveLaw (PH) 312

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has dismissed a regular bail application in a money-laundering case arising from an alleged ₹236 crore bank fraud, holding that economic offences involving calculated design, manipulation of records and misuse of corporate or fiduciary structures warrant a more circumspect approach than offences committed in a moment of passion or impulse.

Taking Custody Of Children By Deception Doesn't Attract Cheating, Criminal Breach Of Trust: P&H High Court Quashes FIR Against In-Laws

Case Title: Inderjit Kaur v. State of Haryana and another; Gurjit Singh and others v. State of Haryana and another

Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 313

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has quashed an FIR registered by a wife against her husband, mother-in-law, sister-in-law and brother-in-law alleging that her two children were taken away on the pretext of a religious ceremony and subsequently taken to Italy, holding that the essential ingredients of cheating and criminal breach of trust cannot be made out merely because custody of children was allegedly obtained through deception.

'Malady' Of Concealing Criminal Antecedents Must Be Detested: P&H High Court Denies Anticipatory Bail In NDPS Case, Imposes ₹50K Costs

Case Title: Kaushalya Rani v. Union of India through the office of Narcotics Control Bureau

Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 314

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has dismissed an anticipatory bail application in an NDPS case with costs of ₹50,000 on the accused-petitioner who falsely claimed to be a first-time offender — and disclosed concealed antecedents only after being confronted by the prosecution.

Justice Sumeet Goel said, "allowing a litigant who suppresses material facts to have his/her case evaluated on merits; moreso, after the suppression is exposed by the prosecution; undermines judicial efficiency and encourages dishonest litigation tactics. If the only consequence of non-disclosure of criminal antecedents/previous criminal involvements is taking of an adverse inference by the court while considering such bail plea on merits thereof, the dishonest litigants (resorting to such practise) face no real downside to withholding or giving misleading/incomplete information as they lose nothing by taking a chance on deceiving the court.

Current Duty Charge Service Can't Be Counted For Regular Service For promotion : Punjab & Haryana High Court

Case Name : State of Haryana and Another versus Sanjeev Batish and Another

Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 315

A Division Bench of the Punjab & Haryana High Court comprising Justice Harsimran Singh Sethi and Justice Minderjeet Yadav held that service rendered on Current Duty Charge as stop-gap arrangement cannot be counted as completed service under statutory rules requiring eight years of substantive service in the cadre for promotion.

'Easy Prey' Found In Orphan Man With Little Means To Defend Himself: P&H High Court Acquits Death-Row Convict In Minor's Rape-Murder Case

Title: STATE OF PUNJAB v. GURPREET ALIAS GOPI

Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 316

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has acquitted a man sentenced to death for the rape and murder of a 12-year-old girl, after finding the prosecution's case on circumstantial evidence riddled with unexplained contradictions, a suspiciously delayed "last seen" witness, and serious doubts about the sanctity of the DNA sample chain of custody.

The division bench of Justice Vinod S. Bhardwaj and Justice Sukhvinder Kaur said, "It seems that the Investigating Agency found an easy prey in the appellant-accused Gurpreet @ Gopi who is an orphan and has no other member of the family and with no stable means of sustenance to douse the unrest and commotion which may have arisen as a result of a perceived rape and murder of a minor girl child. The accused with no members of family to pursue his defence and with minimal means of defending himself thus have little shot."

Foreign Driving Licence Without International Permit Or Indian Authorisation Can't Be Used To Drive In India: P&H High Court

Title: Sameer Gaba v. Priyanka and Others

Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 317

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has held that merely holding a valid foreign driving licence does not authorise a person to drive in India, unless the licence meets the applicable statutory requirements and is accompanied by the requisite international driving permit or Indian authorisation.

P&H High Court Rejects 'Negative Fee Waiver', Says Candidates Can't Be Made Ineligible For Paying Application Fee Despite Exemption

Title: Nirmala Devi and others v. State of Haryana and others

Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 318

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has set aside the Haryana Staff Selection Commission's rejection of three TGT (Sanskrit) candidates who were denied the benefit of promised age relaxation solely because they had, out of caution, paid the application fee despite being expressly exempted from it.

'Yaarian 2' Song Depicting Non-Amritdhari Actor Wearing Kirpan Not Insult To Sikh Religion: P&H High Court Quashes FIR

Title: RADHIKA RAO AND OTHERS v. STATE OF PUNJAB AND ANOTHER

Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 319

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has quashed an FIR registered under Section 295-A IPC against the director, producer and lead actor of the film "Yaarian 2" over a song depicting a non-Amritdhari (unbaptised) actor wearing the Kirpan, holding that inadvertent artistic portrayal, without deliberate and malicious intent to outrage religious feelings, does not attract the offence.

Husband's Offer To Bear Travel Expenses Can't Automatically Defeat Wife's Transfer Plea: P&H High Court

Title: XXXX v. XXXX

Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 320

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has transferred a divorce petition filed by a husband from the Family Court at Hisar to the Family Court at Sonepat, on the wife's application, holding that a husband's offer to bear travelling expenses for hearings does not constitute an inflexible rule defeating a wife's prayer for transfer, and that the convenience of female litigants deserves due weightage in matrimonial transfer matters. [2026 LiveLaw (PH) 322]

CBFC Regional Officer Lacked Authority To Refuse 'Chardikala' Film Certification: P&H High Court

Case Title: Gurkaran Singh Dhaliwal v. Central Board of Film Certification and another

Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 321

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has held that orders refusing certification to the Punjabi film "Chardikala" were passed by an authority lacking competence to do so, after it emerged that no valid delegation of the Central Board of Film Certification's statutory powers existed in favour of the Regional Officer or even the Chairperson on the dates the refusal orders were issued.

Punjab & Haryana High Court Strikes Down Section 147A Income Tax Act As Unconstitutional

Case Title: Jyoti Sareen v. UOI

Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 322

The Punjab & Haryana High Court struck down the newly inserted Section 147A of the Income Tax Act, 1961, which retrospectively clarifies the role of the Jurisdictional Assessing Officer (JAO) in reassessment proceedings.

The bench of Justice Deepak Sibal and Justice Rupinderjit Chahal pronounced the decision.

'Fair Criticism' Cannot Extend To Imputing Dishonest Motives To Judges: P&H High Court Holds 81-Year-Old Guilty Of Contempt

Case Title: Court on its own motion v. Ram Niwas Aggarwal

Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 323

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has held that the statutory protection for fair criticism of a judicial act under Section 5 of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 is available only in respect of a case that has been finally decided and cannot be invoked by a litigant to justify scandalous allegations levelled against Judges while his own litigation remains pending before them.

The Court held a 81-year-old litigant guilty of criminal contempt for repeatedly levelling scandalous and uncorroborated allegations of corruption and collusion against multiple sitting and former Judges of the High Court and judicial officers of the Hisar district judiciary, in the course of a decades-old petrol pump partnership dispute, holding that such conduct amounted to a sustained campaign of vilification rather than fair criticism.

P&H High Court Suggests National Database To Track Habitual Complainants, Grants Bail To Woman Accused Of Filing Multiple False Rape Cases

Kashish Uppal @ Sofia Uppal v. State of Punjab

Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 324

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has granted regular bail to a woman accused of conniving with a co-accused to get multiple false rape cases registered across Punjab and Delhi with the object of extorting money from the alleged victims, while separately suggesting that a national-level database be developed to make the antecedents of habitual complainants available to investigating agencies across jurisdictions. [2026 LL (PH) 324]

Outsourced Employees' Deployment In Transport Corporation Doesn't Establish Master-Servant Relationship: P&H High Court Sets Aside Regularisation

Case Title: Pepsu Road Transport Corporation v. Daljeet Singh and others (and three connected appeals)

Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 325

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has set aside a Single Judge's order directing regularisation of the services of drivers, conductors and other staff engaged through a private outsourcing agency with the Pepsu Road Transport Corporation (PRTC), holding that a master-servant relationship must be established through documentary evidence such as an appointment order, and cannot be presumed merely because the employees were deployed with and supervised by the Corporation for long, continuous periods.

'Honey Trap' No Excuse: P&H High Court Denies Bail To Man Accused Of Sharing Air Force Station, Rafale Jet Photos With Woman From Pakistan

Sunil Kumar @ Sunny v. State of Haryana

Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 326

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has dismissed a bail application filed by a man accused under the Official Secrets Act and Section 152 BNS for allegedly sharing photographs of the Air Force Station, Ambala Cantt and Rafale jets with a woman operating from Pakistan, holding that even if the accused was a victim of a honey trap, there was no justification for sharing such sensitive photographs with an unknown person from across the border. [2026 LL (PH) 326]

Punjab & Haryana High Court Recalls Costs Imposed On Police Superintendent, Cites Factual Error

Case Title : Vijay Sharma vs. State of Haryana

Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 327

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has recalled its earlier order imposing a cost of ₹5,000 on the Superintendent of Police (SP), Mewat, after finding that the penalty had been imposed due to a factual error made by the Court itself.

Justice Sumeet Goel said, “it is inexorable posit that this principle (Actus Curiae Neminem Gravabit) is founded upon justice and good sense which serves a safe and certain guide for the administration of law as also justice. It would apply with greater force regarding the acts for which it can be unequivocally held that the Court wouldn't have ever so acted had accurate/correct facts been brought to its notice.”

'Judges Must Have Spine To Do Justice': P&H High Court Grants Interim Bail To 76-Year-Old PMLA Accused Citing Ill-Health, Prolong Custody

Title: Davinder Singh Nirwal @ Dev v. Directorate of Enforcement

Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 328

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has granted interim bail on medical grounds to a 76-year-old accused in a money laundering case, holding that before rejecting a bail application of a person above 75 years of age with health issues, a judge "must have the spine to do justice" and examine such pleas with utmost sympathy and concern.

Justice Anoop Chitkara and Justice Harmeet Singh Deol said, "Unhealthy old age is a curse. It is inhumane to deny bail to middle-old people, or to those who are so sick that it is better for them to receive treatment outside prison walls; subject to the exception like the inmate is a recidivist who refuses to mend their ways, or is at flight risk, or that the criminal is of extreme perversity, or that the crime is so heinous or so cruel, that releasing such person on bail would be more disastrous to the society. Denying bail in such cases can be unkind and goes against the conscience of the Court."

Punjab & Haryana High Court Grants Bail To Two More Accused In UGC NET Paper Leak Case, Including Alleged Kingpin

ROBIN SINGH ALIAS ROBIN v. STATE OF HARYANA

Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 329

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has granted regular bail to two accused, Robin Singh alias Robin and Neeraj Kumar Dhanak, in the case concerning the leak of CSIR-UGC NET examination question papers, in two separate orders arising from the same FIR.

Justice Shalini Singh Nagpal said, "The object of bail is to secure the attendance of an accused person in his trial. The object is neither punitive nor preventive. Deprivation of liberty must be avoided unless the Court has reasons to believe that an accused will not be available to have trial. A man is deemed to be innocent until duly tried and found guilty and punishment begins after conviction. Though, seriousness of the charge is a relevant consideration, it is not the only test or factor."

'Heart Lung Pack' Wasn't Statutorily Notified As Drug In 2010: P&H High Court Quashes Criminal Case Against Manufacturer

Case Title: M/s Super Cardio Devices Private Limited and others v. State of Haryana

Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 330

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has quashed a criminal complaint filed against a medical device manufacturer and its directors for allegedly manufacturing "Heart Lung Pack", a cardiac surgery tubing system, without a drug manufacturing licence.

The Court held that the product was never specifically notified as a "drug" under Section 3(b)(iv) of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 at the time of the alleged offence, and that subsequent administrative clarifications could not retrospectively supply this statutory requirement.

Minor Muslim Girl Or Boy Free To Marry Anyone They Like After Attaining Puberty: P&H High Court

Case Title: Akbar Khan and another v. State of Punjab and others

Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 331

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has disposed of a petition seeking protection of life and liberty for a couple who married under Muslim personal law against the wishes of the girl's family, holding that under Mohammedan Law, a person who has attained puberty, presumed at 15 years in the absence of evidence, is competent to enter into a valid marriage of their own choosing.

'Abuse Of Process Of Law': P&H High Court Refuses Protection To Live-In Couple, Notes Both Partners Are Already Married & Have Children

Case Title: Rasid and another v. State of Haryana and others

Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 332

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has dismissed a writ petition filed by a man and woman, both already married to other people with children from their respective marriages, seeking protection of life and liberty for their live-in relationship, holding that the petition amounted to an attempt to cover up a "promiscuous relationship" under the guise of legal process.

"Cancellation Of Bail" And "Setting Aside Of Bail Order" Are Conceptually Distinct: P&H High Court

Title: Manan Chugh v. State of Haryana and another

Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 333

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has dismissed a petition seeking to set aside an order granting regular bail to a woman accused in a travel-fraud case, reiterating the settled distinction between "cancellation of bail" (which requires supervening circumstances or misconduct after release) and "setting aside of a bail order" (which requires the original order itself to be shown as perverse or based on irrelevant considerations), while nonetheless directing the accused to surrender her passport given the flight-risk concerns raised.

Woman Living On Her Own Earnings From Prostitution Can't Be Booked For Illegal Trafficking: P&H High Court

Case Title: Ajaib Singh and another v. State of Punjab and others

Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 334

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has observed that a woman accused of living on her own earnings from prostitution cannot be booked for illegal trafficking under Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act 1956.

In doing so the court quashed charges framed against the woman under the Act who had originally lodged a gang-rape FIR but was subsequently made an accused during probe.

Illegal Search Doesn't Automatically Warrant Quashing Of Criminal Complaint Under Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act: P&H High Court

Case Title: Renu Deswal v. State of Haryana and others

Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 335

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has dismissed petitions seeking quashing of a criminal complaint under the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act, 1994, holding that even if the underlying inspection was authorised by an individual officer rather than the collective three-member District Appropriate Authority, this does not automatically vitiate a complaint separately deliberated upon and sanctioned by the statutory Authority, nor render the recovered material unusable.

RTI Applicant's Claim That Information Would Help Pending Civil Litigation Can't Override Third-Party Exemption: P&H High Court

Title: Pavitar Singh v. Punjab State Information Commission and Others

Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 336

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has dismissed a writ petition challenging the Punjab State Information Commission's refusal to furnish RTI information relating to an FIR, holding that an applicant's claim that the information would assist him in pending civil litigation does not, by itself, establish the larger public interest necessary to override the third-party information exemption under Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act.

Airbag Failure Can Be Inferred From Circumstances; Lab Test Not Mandatory In Every Case: P&H High Court Upholds Ford's Liability

Title: Ford India Private Limited v. Shri Yogesh Jain and others

Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 337

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has dismissed a writ petition filed by Ford India challenging concurrent orders of consumer fora directing refund of the price of a Ford EcoSport vehicle whose airbag safety system largely failed to deploy in a serious accident, holding that a manufacturing defect of this nature can be inferred from the circumstances without a mandatory laboratory test.

High Court Rejects Chandigarh Admin's Plea Against Minimum Pay Scale For Part-Time Class IV Employee, Cites Pay Parity

Case Title: Jyoti v. State of Haryana and Others; Subhash Chander and Others v. State of Haryana and Others

Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 338