Tarn Taran Blast: Punjab and Haryana High Court grants bail to youth arrested in 2019 for alleged Khalistani links

The Punjab and Haryana High Court recently granted bail to one of the accused in the 2019 Tarn Taran blast case, considering that the trial is yet to make substantial progress and since he had remained behind bars for almost 4 years [Chandeep Singh @ Gabbar Singh vs State of Punjab]..The prosecution had accused the bail applicant, one Chandeep Singh alias Gabbar Singh of being a "radicalised pro-Khalistani" youth and a member of a "terrorist group."The High Court was also told that a special court had already rejected his bail plea earlier, as had another bench of the High Court in 2020. .A division bench of Justices GS Sandhwalia and Rajesh Bhardwaj, however, has now allowed Chandeep Singh's release on bail.The Court passed the bail order after noting that there appeared to be no credible evidence to connect Singh with the most serious charge in the case of being a member of a terrorist gang, under Section 20 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). The other offences charged against Singh were only punishable with jail time ranging between 3-7 years. "The appellant having undergone almost 4 years of detention cannot be expected to continue in detention merely on account of the fact that the offences are serious as per the prosecution version ... The appellant was in custody since May 15, 2019 and a period of almost 4 years has passed and out of the 120 witnesses which were to be examined, only 14 have been examined and in the absence of any incriminating material recovered from him, he is entitled to bail," the Court held..The High Court also opined that the special court was wrong to hold that only a Constitutional Court could grant bail in such a UAPA case. "Admittedly, the trial is creeping along and there has been no substantial progress and therefore, it (special court) was also not justified in holding that only the Constitutional Courts would have the power to grant bail as Section 43-C of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) provides for application of the provisions of Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC)," the High Court judgment stated. .The bench further noted that it was not the prosecution's case that Singh was involved in other cases or that he had a criminal background..The case pertains to the powerful explosion that took place in a village in Tarn Taran on September 4, 2019, in which two people were killed and few were grievously injured. As per the prosecution case, several accused persons (nearly nine youngsters) formed a terrorist gang under the leadership of one Bikramjit Singh..The present bail applicant, Chandeep Singh was booked for allegedly having met with various other co-accused from the year 2013-2014. The prosecution claimed that Chandeep Singh was initiated into radicalization by Bikramjit Singh and that he was a member of a terrorist gang. After the bomb-blast, he had rushed to meet the other co-accused in the hospital, the prosecution added. Resultantly, it was alleged that Chandeep Singh was inclined to pro-Khalistani ideology, that he had been sharing posts on myriad issues relating to Khalistan and that he had used social media to spread propaganda against the government of India. He was further accused of having entered into a conspiracy to create instability and disturbance in the law and order situation in Punjab, especially in Amritsar and Tarn Taran..The allegations were refuted by Chandeep Singh's counsel before the High Court, advocate Bhanu Pratap Singh. Among other contentions, the lawyer had asserted that merely because Chandeep Singh's Facebook profile showed that he held religious views as a Sikh who believed in Khalishtan, it did not indicate any view in favour of the Khalistan movement nor was it enough to frame him as a member of a terrorist outfit. Advocate Sumit Kalyan appeared along with advocate Bhanu Pratap Singh for Chandeep Singh before the High Court. Special Public Prosecutor Sukhdeep Singh Sandhu represented the National Investigation Agency (NIA)..[Read Judgment]