Nominal Index [Citations 134 - 175]XXXX v. XXXX 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 134Nirmal Singh Dhanoa and others v. Additional Chief Secretary to Government of Punjab, Department of Finance, Punjab Civil Secretariat, Chandigarh 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 135XXXX v. XXXX 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 136SXXXXX v. RXXXX 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 137Amrit Pal Singh v. Punjab State Agricultural Marketing Board and others 2026 LiveLaw...
Nominal Index [Citations 134 - 175]
XXXX v. XXXX 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 134
Nirmal Singh Dhanoa and others v. Additional Chief Secretary to Government of Punjab, Department of Finance, Punjab Civil Secretariat, Chandigarh 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 135
XXXX v. XXXX 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 136
SXXXXX v. RXXXX 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 137
Amrit Pal Singh v. Punjab State Agricultural Marketing Board and others 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 138
Reports
Title: XXXX v. XXXX
Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 134
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has quashed a criminal complaint and summoning order against a man accused of rape on the pretext of marriage, holding that a married woman, who had not obtained divorce from her estranged husband, could not be said to have acted under a “misconception of fact” while consenting to a sexual relationship.
Title: Nirmal Singh Dhanoa and others v. Additional Chief Secretary to Government of Punjab, Department of Finance, Punjab Civil Secretariat, Chandigarh
Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 135
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed the State of Punjab to release all pending installments of Dearness Allowance (DA) and Dearness Relief (DR) to its employees and pensioners in line with the Central Government pattern, holding that financial constraints cannot be a ground to deny accrued service benefits.
Title: XXXX v. XXXX
Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 136
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has quashed a rape case registered against a man, holding that a prolonged consensual relationship between two mature individuals cannot be criminalised as rape on the basis of a failed promise to marry.
Title: SXXXXX v. RXXXX
Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 137
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has declined custody of a minor child to a working mother residing as a paying guest, holding that she had no sufficient time or support system to care for the child, while reiterating that shared parenting best serves the child's welfare.
Title: Amrit Pal Singh v. Punjab State Agricultural Marketing Board and others
Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 138
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has reiterated the primacy of agricultural operations and farmers' interests while upholding a temporary deployment ordered during the procurement season, observing that individual inconvenience must yield to the larger public good.
Title: STATE OF HARYANA AND ORS. v. SAVITA YADAV
Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 139
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has held that medical reimbursement is a legitimate right of government employees and not a matter of charity, directing States and public authorities to process such claims within a two months or face interest liability.
Title: Paramjit Singh @ Pammi v. Jaspal Singh And Others
Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 140
Mr. Sanjeev Patiyal, Advocate for Respondents.
The Punjab & Haryana High Court has upheld a Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) award granting compensation to the legal heirs of a deceased man, reiterating that the right to claim compensation under the Motor Vehicles Act is not confined to dependents alone.
Justice Virinder Aggarwal dismissed an appeal filed by the vehicle owner challenging the MACT, award dated February 23, 2005, which had granted ₹2,70,800/- along with interest to the claimants on account of the death of Darshan Singh in a motor accident.
Title: Duni Chand v. State of Haryana and others
Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 141
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has held that denial of salary for services rendered over several years amounts to a violation of fundamental rights, including the right to livelihood under Article 21 and protection against forced labour under Article 23 of the Constitution.
Title: Gurtej Singh @ Gurtej Singh Brar v. State of Punjab
Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 142
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has held that an accused already granted regular bail cannot seek anticipatory bail merely because a graver offence has been added later, reiterating that such an accused is deemed to be in “constructive custody of law.”
Justice Manisha Batra noted that the previous petition filed by the petitioner had been dismissed by the Court only on 06.04.2026 and instantly thereafter, the present petition has been filed on 16.04.2026. "The petition does not disclose any change in circumstances, what to say about any substantial or drastic change. On this very ground, the petition cannot be stated to be maintainable. Even otherwise, the petitioner was extended benefit of regular bail by the learned trial Court, vide order dated 05.08.2024,".added the Court.
Title: ABHISHEK MALHOTRA AND ANOTHER v. STATE OF PUNJAB AND ANOTHER
Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 143
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has disposed of a Public Interest Litigation challenging the levy of charges for downloading FIRs and related documents from the Punjab Police's SAANJH portal, directing the authorities to consider the petitioner's representation.
Title: KXXXX v. GXXXXX
Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 144
The Punjab & Haryana High Court has held that a petition under Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) seeking maintenance on behalf of a minor child is maintainable even when filed by the maternal grandmother, if she is the one actually caring for the child.
The Court underscored that beneath the technical objection of maintainability lay a deeper issue—whether a minor's statutory right to maintenance can be frustrated merely because the petition was not instituted by the mother.
Title: Kuldeep Singh v. State of Punjab
Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 145
The Punjab & Haryana High Court has dismissed a petition seeking quashing of an FIR, holding that an accused cannot directly invoke the Court's inherent jurisdiction for quashing after failing to secure anticipatory bail, especially when he has neither surrendered nor joined investigation.
Title: Smt. Kamlesh Kumari (deceased) through LR and anr. v. Union of India and ors.
Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 146
The Punjab & Haryana High Court enhanced compensation from ₹5.76 lakh to ₹46.46 lakh in a motor accident death case involving a young engineering student, emphasizing that assessing the monthly income of a young engineering student at ₹6,000 is “unrealistic”.
Title: Public Action Committee and others v. State of Punjab and others
Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 147
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has dismissed a Public Interest Litigation challenging the State Government's decision directing various development authorities to provide ₹2500 crore to the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA), holding that the impugned action does not violate the provisions of the Punjab Regional and Town Planning and Development Act, 1995 (the Act).
Title: XXX v. XXX
Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 148
The Punjab & Haryana High Court upheld an order directing two sons to pay ₹30,000 per month as interim maintenance to their aged widowed mother, while restructuring the mode of payment to ensure effective enforcement through salary deductions and auto debit from their account to mother's.
Justice Neerja K. Kalson said, "It becomes necessary to recall that the obligation of a child to maintain his parents is not merely statutory, it is deeply rooted in our civilisational ethos. The ancient injunction of “Matru Devo Bhava” is not ornamental; it is foundational.
Title: Ram Kumar Pandey v. State of Punjab
Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 149
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has granted regular bail to a cab driver accused in a case involving recovery of commercial quantity of Tramadol, observing that prima facie the contraband was recovered from a passenger who had booked the ride through the Rapido app and that the question of conscious possession would be determined during trial.
Justice Subhas Mehla noted, "The petitioner is a cab driver and was operating a cab that had been booked by the co-accused through 'rapido' app. The said co- accused/customer was apprehended in possession of contraband (i.e. from rear seat)"
Title: Trident Limited v. State of Punjab & another
Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 150
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has observed that the apprehension of political vendetta behind a raid conducted by the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) on Trident Limited appears “reasonably palpable”, noting the proximity of the action to the change in political allegiance of the company's Chairman Emeritus.
It was alleged by Trident Limited that PPCB raided the factory after owner of the Company— MP Rajinder Gupta, left the Aam Aadmi Party to join the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Title: SANJEEV KUMAR v.STATE OF HARYANA AND ORS.
Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 151
Observing that the State, which is supposed to act as a parent to its employee becomes a "reluctant roadblock" instead, the Punjab & Haryana High Court directed Haryana Government to reconsider the case of a PwD employee for promotion to the post of Deputy Forest Ranger.
Justice Sandeep Moudgil said, "It is a somber observation that despite the shield of beneficent legislation forged to safeguard the dignity and promise of persons with disabilities the journey to justice remains an arduous pilgrimage. A statute born of compassion should be a sanctuary, not a promise perpetually deferred."
Title: ZEE ENTERTAINMENT ENTERPRISES LIMITED V/S UNION OF INDIA
Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 152
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has set aside the Centre's advisory opposing the film's release, thereby clearing the way for its release. However, the Court directed that the title be altered, observing that it must not contain the words “Lawrence Bishnoi” or “Punjab,” to avoid misleading connotations.
Title: Sonu and others v. State of Haryana and others
Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 153
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has held that duping unemployed youth on the false promise of securing government jobs constitutes a grave offence with serious societal repercussions, while rejecting a plea for anticipatory bail in a fraud case. The Court observed that a compromise between the parties cannot dilute the seriousness of allegations involving cheating and forgery.
Title: XXXX v. XXXX
Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 154
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has held that a husband cannot deny interim maintenance to his wife under Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure merely by levelling allegations of adultery, without such claims being substantiated by cogent and legally admissible evidence.
Title: XXX v. State of Haryana
Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 155
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has set aside a 10-year sentence awarded to a child in conflict with law convicted of murder, holding that such a punishment is ex facie illegal under Section 302 IPC.
The Court clarified that even when a juvenile is tried as an adult, the sentence for murder can only be life imprisonment (with possibility of release) and not a fixed-term sentence.
P&H High Court Dismisses PIL Seeking Disqualification Of Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann, Ministers
Title: Jagmohan Singh Bhatti Advocate
Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 156
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has dismissed a PIL seeking disqualification of the Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and other ministers, holding that a writ of quo warranto is maintainable only when there is a clear lack of eligibility to hold public office.
Title: STATE OF HARYANA V/S SURINDER SINGH AND ORS
Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 157
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has granted bail to an accused who remained in custody for over 15 years despite the restoration of his acquittal by the Supreme Court.
Emphasising the primacy of personal liberty, the Court observed that “liberty is not cosmetic, it's real,” while holding that continued incarceration in the absence of a subsisting conviction cannot be justified.
Title: Parwinder Singh v. State of Punjab and others
Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 158
The Punjab & Haryana High Court has dismissed a candidate's plea seeking correction of his caste sub-category in a recruitment process after declaration of results, holding that candidates are bound by the category opted at the time of application and cannot seek changes at a belated stage.
Title: XXXX v XXXX
Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 159
The Punjab & Haryana High Court has acquitted a woman convicted for criminal conspiracy in a 2002 rape case, holding that mere suspicion or limited involvement cannot substitute the strict proof required to establish a charge under Section 120-B IPC.
Justice Rupinderjit Chahal said, "Regardless of how serious or disturbing the alleged offence may be, suspicion by itself cannot substitute for legal proof. The well-established cannon of criminal justice is "fouler the crime, higher the proof". Therefore, the law unequivocally mandates that the prosecution must establish the charges beyond all reasonable doubt in order to secure a conviction in a criminal trial."
KULDEEP SINGH AND ANOTHER Vs UNION OF INDIA AND OTHERS
Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 160
The Punjab & Haryana High Court has held that landowners whose land is acquired under the National Highways Act are entitled to interest in terms of the more beneficial provisions of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, and not merely under the limited framework of the 1956 Act.
Title: Pushap Lata v. State of Punjab & another
Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 161
The Punjab & Haryana High Court has upheld the conviction of a Barnala-based clinic owner under the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act, holding that failure to maintain mandatory records—particularly Form 'F'—constitutes a serious statutory violation and cannot be dismissed as a mere procedural lapse.
Title: Satyavati v. State of Haryana and another
Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 162
The Punjab & Haryana High Court has observed that issues relating to the deployment of medical officers transcend a mere service dispute and directly implicate the larger question of availability and accessibility of public healthcare in the State.
Justice Sandeep Moudgil said, "In a welfare State governed by constitutional morality, healthcare cannot remain a matter of paper assurances or statistical abstractions, it must reflect in actual availability of doctors and functioning medical institutions on the ground accessible to all citizens. A hospital deprived of doctors is but a structure of bricks and mortar, incapable of securing the right to life to the citizens. The constitutional obligation of the State does not end with establishment of institutions, it extends to ensuring that such institutions remain functional in substance, providing healthcare facilities to all."
Title: Satyawan @ Satyaban v. State of Haryana
Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 163
The Punjab & Haryana High Court has held that a trial court committed a “patent illegality” by sentencing an accused to 20 years' rigorous imprisonment under Section 18(b) of the NDPS Act in a case involving cultivation of opium poppy plants, observing that cultivation of poppy plants cannot be treated as involving “commercial quantity”.
Title: Khilu Ram @ Khelo Ram v. State of Punjab
Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 164
The Punjab & Haryana High Court has set aside a 24-year-old order declaring a man a proclaimed offender, observing that his absence from trial proceedings was not intentional but stemmed from lack of awareness.
Justice Rajesh Bhardwaj noted that the petitioner remained absent despite orders as he was unaware about the ongoing proceedings because of the reason that he was residing in Gujarat. But now the petitioner is keen and ready to join the proceedings and face the trial.
Title: Hukam Singh v. State of Haryana and others
Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 165
The Punjab & Haryana High Court has ordered the Director General, Health Services, Haryana to verify the package rates of all empanelled hospitals and take strict action, including cancellation of licences, in cases of policy violations.
The Court also cautioned against the practice of hospitals offering artificially low package rates to attract patients and later charging separately for essential procedures, holding that such conduct cannot be permitted.
Title: Ruchita Garg v State of Punjab
Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 166
The Punjab & Haryana High Court today dismissed a PIL challenging decision of the State Election Commission to switch from Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) to ballot papers in the upcoming Punjab local body polls.
The elections for the local bodies in Punjab are scheduled to be held on May 26, with the counting of votes scheduled to take place on May 29.
Title: Jeet Singh v. State of Punjab and others
Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 167
The Punjab & Haryana High Court has dismissed a Letters Patent Appeal filed by a senior citizen seeking maintenance and cancellation of a property transfer in favour of his sons from his first marriage, holding that the dispute was essentially a family property matter and not a case of neglect under the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007.
Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Justice Rohit Kapoor said, "The authorities under the Act of 2007 have duly examined the peculiar facts involved and material on record, and on being convinced that the appellant is living comfortably with his wife and son from the second marriage and that the dispute is in the nature of family/property dispute, with the sole intent of claiming back the property from the children of the first wife of the appellant, have refused to grant the relief to the appellant. Even before the learned Single Judge, the findings regarding the appellant being maintained and looked after, and having sufficient resources have gone unrebutted."
Punjab & Haryana High Court Grants Parole To Life Convict To Prepare Documents Lost In Fire Incident
Title: Gurwinder Singh alias Guri v. State of Punjab and others
Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 168
The Punjab & Haryana High Court has granted 8 weeks' parole to a life convict to enable him to prepare essential documents that were destroyed in a fire incident, observing that the denial of parole on mere apprehension of breach of peace is unsustainable in law.
Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Justice Rohit Kapoor noted, "The facts of the case would thus indicate that the petitioner has deep roots in the society and has a valid reason for seeking parole to meet his brother and to carry out required tasks for preparation of documents, which may have been burnt during the fire incident."
Title: Madan Kumar v. State of Haryana and others
Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 169
The Punjab & Haryana High Court has upheld the Haryana Government's decision to amend its service rules and withdraw the benefit of extended retirement age for certain categories of differently-abled employees, holding that fixing different retirement ages across employee categories does not amount to unlawful discrimination.
Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Justice Rohit Kapoor said, "It is well settled that the employer is well within its rights to fix different age of retirement for different categories of employees, keeping in view the nature of work and exigencies of public service. The State of Haryana, keeping in view such exigencies, had carved out an exception with regard to the Group 'D' employees and Judicial Officers. The provisions of the RPwD Act would stand violated, had the State discriminated with the differently-abled employees working on such posts and would have fixed a different age of retirement qua them, while granting the benefit of extended age of superannuation only to able-bodied employees. This is not the course adopted."
Title: Ruchita Garg v. State of Punjab and others
Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 170
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has observed that the statutory framework governing municipal elections consciously retains the option of conducting polls through ballot papers and ballot boxes to address prevailing ground realities such as illiteracy, poverty, and logistical constraints.
The Court noted that while Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) have been introduced, the law does not mandate their exclusive use, and authorities may revert to the traditional ballot system where circumstances so require.
Title: Partap Singh Baiwa v. State of Punjab and others
Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 171
The Punjab & Haryana High Court declined to entertain a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Congress MLA and Leader of Opposition in the Punjab assembly Partap Singh Bajwa raising concerns over the conduct of the ongoing Municipal Corporation elections in Punjab. A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sanjiv Berry permitted Bajwa to withdraw the plea subject to ₹25,000 costs.
Title: Geetu Ram Tanwar v. State of Haryana and another
Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 172
The Punjab & Haryana High Court has dismissed a second petition seeking anticipatory bail filed by Geetu Ram Tanwar, a Superintending Engineer with Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam Limited (UHBVNL), in connection with an FIR alleging circulation of a video containing derogatory remarks against a particular community.
Justice Sumeet Goel noted, "The material collected during the course of investigation prima facie reflects that objectionable and derogatory remarks targeting a particular community have been made in the course of the conversation in which the petitioner was an active participant. The language allegedly used is not only abusive in nature but is also prima facie capable of inciting resentment, hostility and communal disharmony against a specific community. The contention raised on behalf of the petitioner that the conversation was private in nature cannot, at this stage, dilute the seriousness of the allegations, particularly when the contents thereof entered the public domain and allegedly generated communal tension in the area."
Title: NEERAJ RANI AND OTHERS v. STATE OF HARYANA AND OTHERS
Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 173
The Punjab & Haryana High Court has held that the State cannot continue to extract work of a permanent nature while denying employees the security of regular service, observing that such arrangements amount to “exploitation camouflaged as contractual engagement.”
Justice Sandeep Moudgil said, "This Court cannot shut its eyes to the fact that the State, which is expected to be a model employer, has itself indulged in a manner of dealing with its employees which bears the clear imprint of exploitation. When such conduct emanates from the State, it does not remain confined to the narrow compass of a service dispute. It assumes a larger constitutional significance. For if the State itself legitimises or tolerates unfair treatment of its employees, it sends out an unfortunate signal that such conduct is acceptable in the place of employment."
SXXX V. SXXXXXX
Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 174
The Punjab & Haryana High Court has refused to recall an order dismissing a criminal revision petition as withdrawn, holding that a litigant cannot be permitted to reopen long-pending proceedings merely by attributing lapses to counsel after repeated opportunities have already been exhausted.
Justice Neerja K. Kalson said, "The conduct reflected from the record is not confined to a solitary act on a single date. Rather, the matter remained pending for years together despite repeated opportunities having been granted by this Court. Even after grant of last opportunity and imposition of costs, the matter was not argued. Judicial proceedings cannot be permitted to remain endlessly pending and thereafter reopened merely on the plea that the default was attributable to the counsel."
Case title: Madhu Purnima Kishwar v/s Union Territory, Chandigarh
Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 175
The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Friday (May 29) refused to grant anticipatory bail to author Madhu Kishwar booked in an FIR for offences of forgery and demafation, over posting/retweeting a purported video on her X platform allegedly on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The court noted that the apparently, the video under scanner, was uploaded on other social media platforms, however, "as a matter of fact, it was only after the petitioner uploaded the same with her comment/s, that it garnered 1,74,000 views and speculations were made of it resembling the holder of a Constitutional post, which was confirmed when she further retweeted in that regard".