LiveLaw Punjab & Haryana High Court Weekly Roundup: September 14 - September 20, 2026

Nominal Index [Citations 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 327 - 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 337]

Vijay Sharma vs. State of Haryana 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 327

Davinder Singh Nirwal @ Dev v. Directorate of Enforcement 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 328

ROBIN SINGH ALIAS ROBIN v. STATE OF HARYANA 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 329

M/s Super Cardio Devices Private Limited and others v. State of Haryana 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 330

 Akbar Khan and another v. State of Punjab and others  2026 LiveLaw (PH) 331

 Rasid and another v. State of Haryana and others 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 332

Manan Chugh v. State of Haryana and another 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 333

Ajaib Singh and another v. State of Punjab and others 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 334

Renu Deswal v. State of Haryana and others 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 335

 Pavitar Singh v. Punjab State Information Commission and Others  2026 LiveLaw (PH) 336

Ford India Private Limited v. Shri Yogesh Jain and others 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 337

Reports

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.

Other Developments

P&H High Court Issues Notice On Contempt Plea Claiming IOA Prez PT Usha Failed To Send Player's Name For Asian Games Despite Assurance

Title: ETISHA DAS V/S P.T. USHA PRESIDENT INDIAN OLYMPIC ASSOCIATION

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has issued notice on a contempt petition filed by a Taekwondo player against P.T. Usha, President of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), alleging that the Association failed to comply with an assurance recorded in an earlier court order regarding her participation in the Asian Games 2026.

P&H High Court Chief Justice Nominates Retired Justice Jaishree Thakur And Sr Advocate Gursharan Kaur Mann As State Bar Council Members

The Punjab & Haryana High Court has nominated retired Justice Jaishree Thakur and Senior Advocate Gursharan Kaur Mann as members of the Bar Council of Punjab & Haryana.

The Registrar General issued a memorandum notifying the co-option/nomination of two members, in compliance with directions issued by the Supreme Court in Yogamaya M.G. v. Union of India and others, Writ Petition (Civil) No. 581 of 2024.

How Can Minister Be Implicated? High Court Questions Plea Over Death Of Punjab Labour Who Named Harpal Cheema In Video Statement

Title: Ravinder Singh v State of Punjab

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has questioned how Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema could be implicated in the case concerning the death of Gulzar Singh, a Scheduled Caste daily wager in Sangrur, who had allegedly named the Minister in a video statement recorded shortly before his death.

The question arose during the hearing of a Public Interest Litigation seeking transfer of the investigation into Singh's death to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) or any other independent agency outside the State.

High Court Directs Chandigarh Municipal Commissioner, Chief Engineer To Inspect "Filthy" Access Road To Govt School

Title: DEIFY JINDAL v. UNION TERRITORY OF CHANDIGARH AND OTHERS

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed the Municipal Commissioner, Chandigarh and the Chief Engineer, UT Chandigarh, to forthwith inspect the passage leading to a Government Model Middle School in Sector 13, Chandigarh, and take appropriate remedial measures if it is found that no proper road exists for students to access the school.

P&H High Court Pulls Up States For Non-Implementation Of Mental Healthcare Act, Directs Institutions To Be Made Functional

Title: PUSHPANJALI TRUST VS STATE OF PUNJAB AND OTHERS

The Punjab and Haryana High Court, in a PIL on the implementation of the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017, has directed the States of Punjab and Haryana and the Chandigarh Administration to ensure that all institutions contemplated under the Act are made functional, after finding that the formation of the State Mental Health Authority, despite being a statutory obligation has largely remained an "empty formality."