LiveLaw Punjab & Haryana High Court Weekly Roundup: October 05 - October 11, 2026
Nominal Index [Citations 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 358 - 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 364]Nikhil Saraf v. State of Punjab and Others 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 358Avtar Singh v. M/s Des Raj & Co. 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 359Amit Kumar v. State of Punjab and others 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 360JASPREET SINGH V. STATE OF PUNJAB AND ANR. 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 361Neha Samar Ranga @ Neha Ranga v. State of Haryana 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 362State...
Nominal Index [Citations 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 358 - 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 364]
Nikhil Saraf v. State of Punjab and Others 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 358
Avtar Singh v. M/s Des Raj & Co. 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 359
Amit Kumar v. State of Punjab and others 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 360
JASPREET SINGH V. STATE OF PUNJAB AND ANR. 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 361
Neha Samar Ranga @ Neha Ranga v. State of Haryana 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 362
State of Haryana v. Hem Raj; Hem Raj v. State of Haryana 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 363
Morrison Loyal @ Morison @ Nishu v. State of Punjab 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 364
Reports
Case Title: Nikhil Saraf v. State of Punjab and Others
Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 358
The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Monday directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to register a criminal case to probe allegations of corruption linked to the Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's office.
A Division Bench of Chief Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Justice Rohit Kapoor said it was "not impressed by the manner in which Punjab Police has acted so far" and that a fair and transparent investigation was required. The CBI has been asked to submit a report on the outcome within two months, and the State and Punjab Police have been directed to render all assistance.
Case Title: Avtar Singh v. M/s Des Raj & Co.
Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 359
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has held that the power to recall witnesses and summon evidence under Section 348 of the BNSS (erstwhile Section 311 CrPC), though wide, cannot be invoked merely because an accused wants to bolster his defence after his evidence has been closed.
Justice Sumeet Goel, dismissing a petition by the accused in a cheque dishonour case, observed that the power must be exercised where the evidence sought is necessary for a just decision of the case, "and not merely because a party wishes to improve, supplement or reconstruct its case after the closure of evidence."
Case Title : Amit Kumar v. State of Punjab and others
Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 360
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has dismissed a habeas corpus petition filed by a father seeking custody of his minor son from the child's maternal grandparents and uncle, holding that the dispute involved contested facts and was already pending before a competent guardianship court.
Justice Sumeet Goel observed that "the mere fact that the petitioner is the biological father of the child in question cannot, by itself, justify exercise of the extraordinary jurisdiction of this Court to direct immediate transfer of custody" in a habeas corpus petition, particularly when a petition under the Guardians and Wards Act was already pending.
Case Title : JASPREET SINGH V. STATE OF PUNJAB AND ANR.
Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 361
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has quashed criminal proceedings under Section 309 IPC against a man who allegedly attempted to take his own life, holding that the statutory presumption of severe stress under Section 115 of the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017, remained unrebutted.
The Court also quashed the accompanying charges under Section 109 IPC and the Arms Act, finding that their essential ingredients were not disclosed.
P&H High Court Denies Bail To Woman Accused Of Embezzling Panchkula Municipal Corporation Funds
Title : Neha Samar Ranga @ Neha Ranga v. State of Haryana
Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 362
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has held that economic offences, though usually not attended by physical violence, cannot for that reason be treated as less serious, and that bail in such cases must be approached with greater circumspection where the material shows a specific and direct link between the accused and the alleged transactions.
"The absence of physical violence, therefore, cannot by itself dilute the seriousness of the alleged criminality or the potential consequences flowing therefrom," observed Justice Sumeet Goel, while refusing regular bail to a woman accused in the alleged siphoning of funds from the Municipal Corporation, Panchkula.
Title : State of Haryana v. Hem Raj; Hem Raj v. State of Haryana
Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 363
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has set aside the death sentence awarded to a man for the 2018 murder of a toddler in Hisar district and acquitted him, holding that the prosecution failed to produce legally admissible evidence connecting him to the crime beyond reasonable doubt.
A Division Bench of Justice Anoop Chitkara and Justice Harmeet Singh Deol considered the earliest documented account of the events, a Childline 1098 record made three days before the child's body was found, which named the person beating the child as "Mahabir" and not the accused, Hem Raj. Holding that this variance "goes to the root of the question of identity," the Court faulted both the investigation and the trial court for failing to address it.
Successive Bail Pleas Without Change In Circumstances Amount To 'Forum Shopping': P&H High Court
Title : Morrison Loyal @ Morison @ Nishu v. State of Punjab
Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 364
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has held that a litigant who files successive anticipatory bail pleas for the same relief, without any material change in circumstances, engages in "a classic case of forum shopping". It said such a litigant "treats the halls of justice as a laboratory for speculative litigation."
Justice Sumeet Goel dismissed a second anticipatory bail petition by a man accused of circulating a woman's private photographs and videos on social media.
Other Developments
The Punjab & Haryana High Court today issued contempt notice against Chief Secretary KP Sinha over misrepresenting facts about the filing of Punjab government's appeal before the Supreme Court against the High Court's recent order for payment of pending dearness allowance (DA) to government employees.
In August, the High Court had dismissed a batch of Letters Patent Appeals filed by the Punjab Government and Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL), affirming that once the State adopted the Central Government pattern for grant of Dearness Allowance and Dearness Relief, it incurred a binding obligation to release the accrued instalments and could not defer them indefinitely under the guise of financial constraint.
The Punjab & Haryana High Court has taken suo motu cognizance of criminal contempt over a front-page advertisement titled "What is Dera Sacha Sauda? (Facts vs Fiction)", published in The Hindu and Dainik Bhaskar.
It has issued notice to Dera Sacha Sauda and to the publishers and editors-in-chief of both newspapers.
The matter was listed today before Justice Vinod S. Bhardwaj and Justice Ravinder Malik and now adjourned for November 25.
Case Title : SUBHASH GUPTA VS. STATE OF HARYANA
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has restrained judicial officers posted in the Sessions Division, Rohtak, from entertaining any bail applications in an FIR concerning an alleged real estate fraud on homebuyers, after noting that certain co-accused had been granted relief by the same presiding officer who dismissed the petitioner's bail plea.
Justice N.S. Shekhawat, hearing an anticipatory bail petition filed by a partner of one of the developer firms, also observed that the status report filed by the State showed police officials at Rohtak "are hesitating in taking action against real estate promoters/developers," and asked the State to appoint a senior IPS officer to investigate what it described as a large-scale scam.
The Punjab and Haryana High Court Bar Association has condemned remarks allegedly made by Congress leader Sukhpal Singh Khaira against law officers in the Office of the Advocate General, Punjab. It has called on him to withdraw them and apologise.
In a statement issued on behalf of its President, Rohit Sud, and its Executive Committee, the Association said a video containing the expression "Bhade de Tattu ne eh Sarkari Vakil" had been widely circulated on social media platforms, including WhatsApp and Facebook, and reported in sections of the press. The phrase loosely translates as "these government lawyers are hired nags."
The Punjab & Haryana High Court on Friday directed that the contempt case against Punjab Chief Secretary K.P. Sinha, arising from alleged non-compliance with its orders in the Dearness Allowance (DA) case, be placed before the bench having jurisdiction as per the roster.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Justice Rohit Kapoor passed the order after the Court was apprised of the Chief Secretary's stand that there was no deliberate intention to make a false statement regarding removal of defects in the State Government's Special Leave Petition (SLP) before the Supreme Court.
High Court Stays Corruption Case Against OSD To Former Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has stayed further proceedings against three accused including Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to former Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh in a Vigilance Bureau case alleging embezzlement of ₹65 lakh meant for installing street lights in villages around Ludhiana.
The accused contend that the Special Judge pressured the investigating agency into filing a supplementary challan against them.
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has criticised the Haryana authorities for taking no action for over three years on a MGNREGA Ombudsman's report that recorded diversion and misappropriation of funds and directed registration of an FIR. It said the authorities "woke up from their deep slumber" only after a public interest litigation was filed.
A Division Bench of Chief Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Justice Rohit Kapoor directed the Deputy Commissioner, Rohtak, to appear in person with the records. It warned that if it was not satisfied with the action proposed, it would consider referring the matter to an independent agency for investigation.