As per the pleadings, raids were conducted after December 17, 2021 but the petitioner could not be arrested. The Punjab and Haryana High Court Thursday dismissed the third anticipatory bail plea of an accused booked in a sex determination case under the Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act.
The court imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 over filing successive petitions for anticipatory bail by changing his counsels.
The HC was hearing the third petition seeking anticipatory bail in FIR registered in December 2020, under Sections 3A, 3B, 5, 6, 23, 25 Rule 3-A(1) of the Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse) Act, 1994, Sections 420 and 120-B IPC (Section 15(2) of the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 added later on), registered at Ludhiana.
The petitioner’s first petition of 2021 before the HC was dismissed on January 19, 2021. The second petition was filed again, wherein counsel for the petitioner after realising that it was the second petition for anticipatory bail without any change in circumstances sought permission to withdraw the petition, thus on July 29, 2021, the petition was dismissed as withdrawn.
The counsel for the petitioner submitted that in a probe report dated October16, 2021, the petitioner was held to be innocent. The state pleaded that the report was not based upon the facts.
As per the pleadings, raids were conducted after December 17, 2021 but the petitioner could not be arrested.
Justice Avneesh Jhingan, after hearing the arguments said that the petitioner has been successful in delaying investigation for almost a year.
“This third petition for anticipatory bail cannot be entertained as no change in circumstances is established….the petition is dismissed with costs of Rs 10000”, ordered Justice Jhingan.
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