'Courtroom Can Be Wild Enough Place Without Summoning Spirits From Grave': Punjab & Haryana HC Warns Lawyer Seeking Pre-Arrest Bail For Dead Man

Observing that "courtroom can be a wild enough place without summoning the spirit from graveyard", the Punjab and Haryana High Court today warned an advocate who filed the pre-arrest bail plea for a man who was found to be dead a month before the filing of the plea.

Justice Manjari Nehru Kaul had summoned the lawyer for explaining "how the Power of Attorney of a dead person could have been procured and annexed" with the petition along with the signed affidavit.

Interestingly, the deceased man was already granted interim-anticipatory bail and the Court had directed him to join the investigation, in the previous hearing.

The counsel tendered apology and submitted that he was misled by "some person."

Considering that the lawyer was "young and inexperienced" the Court accepted the apology stating that, "this court would warn (the lawyer) to practice more caution, after that we do not want to inadvertently summon anymore ghostly client or find ourself entangled in a legal mess..."

The Court also remarked that,"undoubtedly it led to courtroom entertainment which is otherwise dull..."

The Court was hearing pre-arrest bail plea of one Manjit Singh, who was booked in a drugs case under under Sections 22(c), 27A, 29 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 in Punjab's Gurdaspur.

In January, while granting him interim relief, the Court had, "directed to join the investigation and appear before the investigating agency as and when called upon to do so."

However yesterday (May 1), the State counsel submitted the death certificate of the petitioner and perusing the same the Court found that, "...the petitioner expired on 27.12.2023. The instant petition was filed on 24.01.2024 i.e. after one month of the death of the petitioner."

Consequently, it had directed the counsel for the petitioner  to remain present in the Court today.

As the counsel apologised today, Court orally said, "...I realised that you are a young advocate, your enrolment is of 2018...what you have done is a fraud...as if the counsel has orchestrated the legal prank beyond the grave."

Stating that it would "not want to squander his promising career", the Court accepted the apology of the young lawyer. 

The plea was dismissed.

Title: Manjit Singh v. State of Punjab