Self-Styled Godman Rampal's Son-In-Law Gets Bail In UAPA Case After 4 Yrs Custody; P&H High Court Notes All Material Witnesses Examined

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has granted regular bail to Sanjay @ Fauji, the son-in-law of self-styled godman Rampal, in the case arising from the November 2014 violence at Satlok Ashram, Barwala, in which 111 police personnel were injured during the execution of arrest warrants issued by the High Court.The Division Bench of Justice Rajesh Bhardwaj and Justice Deepak Manchanda noted that...

High Court Rejects PIL Challenging Collegium Recommendation To Appoint Haryana AG As Judge, Imposes ₹1 Lakh Costs

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has dismissed a Public Interest Litigation seeking to stall the appointment of Advocate Pravindra Chauhan as a Judge of the High Court, holding that the petition was actuated by personal vendetta rather than genuine public interest, and imposed costs of ₹1,00,000 to be deposited with the Poor Patient Welfare Fund, PGIMER, Chandigarh.A Division Bench of Acting Chief Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Justice Rohit Kapoor was hearing a plea filed by one Pradeep...

Burden To Prove Lack Of Consent Rests On Prosecution And Never Shifts, Even Where Accused Admits Intercourse: P&H High Court

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has held that where a rape accused admits the factum of sexual intercourse, that admission does not relieve the prosecution of its obligation to establish the absence of consent, the burden on that issue resting throughout on the prosecution and never shifting to the accused. [2026 LiveLaw (PH) 276]Acquitting the appellant in an appeal against a 2004...

JJ Act | Failure To Conduct Mandatory Reformative Assessment After Child Turns 21 Warrants Suspension Of Sentence: P&H High Court

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has suspended the sentence of a POCSO convict during the pendency of his appeal, holding that non-compliance with the mandatory reformative-assessment procedure under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 constitutes a relevant circumstance for grant of suspension. [2026 LiveLaw (PH) 273]Justice Mandeep Pannu said, "Sections 19, 20...

SARFAESI Action For Debt Below ₹20 Lakh? P&H High Court Stays Dispossession From Sole Residential House

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has issued notice of motion and directed that borrowers shall not be dispossessed from their residential house till the next date of hearing, in a petition challenging recovery proceedings initiated under the SARFAESI Act, 2002 by a Non-Banking Financial Company in respect of a secured debt of less than ₹20 lakh.Justice Jasgurpreet Singh Puri and Justice...

P&H High Court Explains When Second Anticipatory Bail Plea Can Succeed

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has explained that although a second or successive anticipatory bail petition is maintainable in law, it can succeed only where the applicant demonstrates a substantial change in circumstances. A mere superficial or ostensible change, including the subsequent creation of a document, would not suffice, Justice Sumeet Goel held.The bench thus dismissed a...

Subsistence Of Wife's First Marriage Not Always Bar To Maintenance From Second Husband: P&H High Court

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has upheld an award of maintenance under Section 125 CrPC to a woman whose earlier marriage was alleged to be subsisting on the date of her marriage to the petitioner-husband, holding that such an objection, by itself, cannot defeat a claim for maintenance. [2026 LiveLaw (PH) 272]Dismissing the second husband's criminal revision, Justice Mandeep...

Punjab & Haryana High Court Upholds Hoshiarpur Dera Head's Conviction In 21 Yrs Old Rape Case, Awards ₹6 Lakh To Survivor

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has dismissed the appeal of Dhanwant Singh, the head of a dera in District Hoshiarpur, against his conviction under Section 376 IPC for the rape of a 20-year-old nursing student whose family had been his devotees for over fifteen years. [2026 LiveLaw (PH) 271]Justice Ramesh Kumari held that the sole testimony of a victim of sexual assault, where it...

Madhu Kishwar Moves Punjab & Haryana High Court To Quash FIR Over Social Media Post On PM Modi

Academic Madhu Purnima Kishwar has approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court seeking quashing of an FIR registered by the Chandigarh Police over a social media post concerning a video clip allegedly showing Prime Minister Narendra Modi receiving a face massage from a woman.Justice Vikram Aggarwal directed the Chandigarh Administration to file an affidavit addressing the assertions made...

'Must Remain In Prison Till Sunset Of His Virility': P&H High Court Commutes Death Penalty For Rape-Murder Of 7 Yrs Old, Directs 50 Yrs In Jail

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has commuted the death sentence awarded to a 21-year-old man convicted of the kidnapping, rape and murder of a seven-year-old girl in District Kaithal, holding that while the case does not warrant capital punishment, the convict must be kept out of circulation for a period long enough to remove any risk to other children. [2026 LiveLaw (PH) 270].Framing...

Jumping Off Train Fearing Fire Is Self-Preservation, Not 'Self-Inflicted Injury': P&H High Court Holds Railways Liable To Pay Compensation

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has held that a passenger who jumps from a train under a bona fide apprehension that it has caught fire cannot be said to have suffered a "self-inflicted injury" within the meaning of the proviso to Section 124-A of the Railways Act, 1989, as his conduct is an instinctive act of self-preservation rather than self-destruction. [2026 LiveLaw (PH)...

UAPA | Punjab & Haryana High Court Grants Bail To Man Accused Of Painting Pro-Khalistan Slogans On Govt Building

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has granted regular bail to a man accused of writing pro-Khalistan slogans and hoisting a flag associated with the banned outfit “Sikh for Justice” on a government building, in a case registered under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. [2026 LiveLaw (PH) 268]Justice Vinod S. Bhardwaj and...