LiveLaw Punjab & Haryana High Court Weekly Round-Up: July 13 - July 19, 2026
Nominal Index [Citations 228 - 239]Anand Singh v. State of Haryana (CRA-D-1055-2023) with State of Haryana v. Anand Singh 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 228Surmukh Singh and others v. Smt. Debo and others 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 229State of Haryana v. DHARAMPAL AND OTHERS 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 230Dr. Shyam Bihari v. State of Haryana 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 231XXX v. State of Punjab & others 2026 LiveLaw (PH)...
Nominal Index [Citations 228 - 239]
Anand Singh v. State of Haryana (CRA-D-1055-2023) with State of Haryana v. Anand Singh 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 228
Surmukh Singh and others v. Smt. Debo and others 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 229
State of Haryana v. DHARAMPAL AND OTHERS 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 230
Dr. Shyam Bihari v. State of Haryana 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 231
XXX v. State of Punjab & others 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 232
Sajan Singh v. State of Punjab 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 233
Paramjit Kaur v. State of Punjab and another 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 234
Deepak Jain v. District Magistrate and Chairman Appellate Tribunal, Yamunanagar and others
2026 LiveLaw (PH) 235
R v. State of Punjab 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 236
Parwinder Singh @ Pindu v. U.T. Chandigarh 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 237
Harbhajan Singh v. State of Punjab and others 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 238
SHARWAN SINGH Vs UNION OF INDIA AND ORHERS 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 239
Reports
Title: Anand Singh v. State of Haryana (CRA-D-1055-2023) with State of Haryana v. Anand Singh (MRC-6-2023)
Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 228
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has commuted the death sentence imposed on a man convicted for rape and murder of a six-year-old girl, but directed that he shall not be released unless he serves a minimum actual sentence of 50 years.
In doing so, the Division Bench of Justice Anoop Chitkara and Justice Ramesh Chander Dimri applied the "descending scale" model of sentencing, which translates to 'younger the victim, higher the sentence'.
Title: Surmukh Singh and others v. Smt. Debo and others
Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 229
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has reiterated that the general custom governing Jat tribes permits an issueless proprietor to bequeath ancestral property in favour of a person who rendered services to him during his lifetime.
Observing that such a beneficiary is, for this limited purpose, treated on a footing analogous to a near agnate, the Court held that the customary restriction on alienation of ancestral property does not operate as an absolute bar to such a disposition.
Title: State of Haryana v. DHARAMPAL AND OTHERS
Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 230
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has dismissed the State of Haryana's appeal against the acquittal of four followers of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, accused of vandalising and setting ablaze the office of the Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam Limited (UHBVN) at Kalayat, Kaithal, during the violence that erupted in the aftermath of the Dera chief's conviction in August 2017.
Holding that the prosecution had failed to establish the identity of the accused as well as the statutory ingredients of the offences alleged against them, including sedition, arson and mischief, the Court affirmed the trial court's acquittal.
Title: Dr. Shyam Bihari v. State of Haryana
Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 231
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has held that a doctor cannot be prosecuted under the Pre-conception and Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act, 1994 merely because his name continued to remain on a diagnostic centre's registration panel even after he had ceased to be associated with it.
Justice Yashvir Singh Rathor also emphasized the absence of any evidence of the doctor's physical presence, active participation or conspiracy in the alleged illegal sex-determination procedure.
Title: XXX v. State of Punjab & others
Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 232
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has allowed a Habeas Corpus petition filed by a mother seeking custody of her three-year-old son from her in-laws, reiterating that unless the mother is shown to be wholly unsuitable, the custody of a child below five years must ordinarily remain with her.
Justice Jasjit Singh Bedi said, "There is absolutely nothing to suggest in the reply filed by the private respondents that the petitioner is unsuitable in any way to take care of the child other than stating that as she is pregnant with another child and financially dependent she would be unable to take care of her son Yuvrajpreet Singh. In fact, it would be grave cruelty to the mother in case at this stage of her life when she is pregnant once again, her first born is taken away from her who himself is only of the age of about 03 years. The father, the grandmother, uncles and aunts of a child cannot take care of him the way the mother can, as is sought to be urged."
Title: Sajan Singh v. State of Punjab
Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 233
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has ordered the release of a man arrested under the NDPS Act, holding that merely informing a family member of the arrest is insufficient and that the grounds of arrest must also be communicated to such person in writing. [2026 LiveLaw (PH) 233]
The Court further found that the accused had been remanded to custody without being afforded legal assistance.
Courts Should Not Waste Undue Time Chasing Absconding Accused: P&H High Court
Title: Paramjit Kaur v. State of Punjab and another
Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 234
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has set aside an order declaring a woman residing in the United States as a “proclaimed person” in a criminal case, while granting her one opportunity to appear before the trial court and participate in proceedings, subject to payment of Rs.50,000 costs.
Justice Sanjay Vashisth said, "Primary object of every Court is only to examine the commission of crime in question before it viz-a-viz the person/accused, who is subjected to such proceedings, and if possible justice be imparted at the earliest without unnecessary delay. It is not expected that undue time would be devoted in securing the presence of absconded accused and also to waste energy by enforcing the special mechanism to arrest such accused."
Title: Deepak Jain v. District Magistrate and Chairman Appellate Tribunal, Yamunanagar and others
Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 235
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has made it clear that proceedings initiated under the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007 do not survive after the death of the senior citizen, observing that the very basis of such proceedings extinguishes with their demise.
Justice Kirti Singh said, "Proceedings under the Act are intended to secure the welfare of senior citizens during their lifetime. Once the senior citizen, at whose instance such proceedings were initiated, ceases to survive, the very substratum of the proceedings stands extinguished. The mere circumstance that the proceedings incidentally involved the validity of a family settlement or an arbitral award does not alter their essential character."
Title: R v. State of Punjab
Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 236
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has granted regular bail to a man accused of possessing 417 grams of heroin under the NDPS Act, observing that although his marriage to the victim in a separate POCSO case had no bearing on the merits of the narcotics case, it indicated that he had an opportunity to lead a settled family life and rehabilitate himself in society.
Granting relief, Justice Sanjay Vashisth noted that the victim in the POCSO case had appeared before the Court and stated that she had solemnised marriage with the petitioner after the conclusion of those proceedings and that the couple were living happily with a child born out of the wedlock.
Title: Parwinder Singh @ Pindu v. U.T. Chandigarh
Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 237
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has denied regular bail to a man accused of harbouring and financially aiding members of gangster Goldy Brar's network, who allegedly conspired to murder a rival gangster inside court premises.
The bench Justice Deepak Sibal and Justice Lapita Banerji held that a plot to kill a person within the "Temple of Justice" itself reflects an intent to strike terror in the minds of the people, sufficient to attract the rigours of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.
Title: Harbhajan Singh v. State of Punjab and others
Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 238
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has declined to interfere with the withdrawal of security cover extended to Rajya Sabha MP Harbhajan Singh, holding that protests outside his residence and posters branding him a "traitor" after he quit the Aam Aadmi Party would not, by themselves, establish a threat to his life and liberty.
Justice Tribhuvan Dahiya said, "it cannot be said the petitioner's security cover has been withdrawn abruptly due to his leaving the party. The decision to withdraw had been taken by the Review Committee much earlier, which is not denied. The protests outside his residence or his being branded a traitor, would not establish threat to his life and liberty ipso fact
Title: SHARWAN SINGH Vs UNION OF INDIA AND ORHERS
Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (PH) 239
The Punjab & Haryana High Court dismissed a PIL seeking restoration of singer-actor Diljit Dosanjh's film Satluj, which was recently taken down from OTT platform.
The plea filed by a Punjab resident challenged the removal of the movie, alleging it was arbitrary and unjustified, and urged the Court to intervene to ensure its availability to the public.
Other Reports
P&H High Court Takes Suo Motu Cognizance Of Report On 9 Girls Going Missing In 48 Hours In Ludhiana
Title: COURT ON ITS OWN MOTION V/S STATE OF PUNJAB & ORS.
The Punjab & Haryana High Court has taken suo motu cognizance of a newspaper report published on 31.05.2026, which highlighted that nine girls had gone missing within a span of 48 hours in Ludhiana.
Treating the report as a matter of serious concern, the Court directed the State of Punjab to file an affidavit of the Deputy Commissioner concerned, addressing the allegations contained in the news report as well as the steps taken by the administration in response.
The Punjab Government represented through AG Punjab Maninderjit Singh Bedi has told the High Court that a single judge's direction for release of pending Dearness Allowance (DA) to Punjab government employees and pensioners was "corum non judice".
Acting Chief Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Justice Rohit Kapoor was hearing a Letters Patent Appeal (LPA) against order of the single judge directing the Punjab Government to release all pending installments of 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.