HC grants bail to former MLA Bains in murder bid case

The Punjab and Haryana high court has granted bail to Lok Insaaf party president former MLA Simarjit Singh Bains in a case of attempt to murder registered by Shimlapuri police station of Ludhiana in February 2022. Two-time MLA Bains was arrested in the case on February 8.

Chandigarh: The Punjab and Haryana high court has granted bail to Lok Insaaf party president former MLA Simarjit Singh Bains in a case of attempt to murder registered by Shimlapuri police station of Ludhiana in February 2022. Two-time MLA Bains was arrested in the case on February 8.

Two-time MLA Bains was arrested in the case on February 8. (Representational Photo)

The complainant in the case, Gurvinder Singh, an associate of Kamaljit Singh Karwal, contesting the elections for MLA from the Atamnagar constituency on a Congress ticket in the 2022 assembly polls, had alleged that Bains and his associates attacked him on February 7 evening, but they escaped unhurt. The incident was reported during electioneering.

The state had strenuously opposed the bail arguing that given the criminal past, the accused is likely to indulge in crime once released on bail.

The high court bench of justice Anoop Chitkara observed that while considering each bail petitions with a criminal history throws an onerous responsibility upon the courts to act judiciously with reasonableness because arbitrariness is the antithesis of law. “The criminal history must be of cases where the accused was convicted, including the suspended sentences and all pending FIRs, wherein the bail petitioner stands arraigned as an accused,” it said. However, granted bail observing that although the petitioner has a “criminal past”, the present occurrence cannot be related to prior criminal history, and the court deemed it appropriate to give an opportunity to the petitioner to “reform and mend his ways”. The court was referring to details of criminal listed by him before court as per which he is involved in 24 cases, however, out of 24 cases, he is acquitted in 8 cases and cancellation report has been filed in 2 cases. 14 cases are still pending. He had approached high court on December 15, 2022.

The court has imposed some conditions on Bains, including he can’t enter the property and the residence of the victim. The court also made it clear that during the trial, if the petitioner repeats or violates any condition as imposed on him, the police can move for cancellation of the bail.