Deep Sidhu gets bail in 2nd case, court says arrest was 'vicious', 'sinister'

New Delhi: While observing that arresting Punjabi actor-activist Deep Sidhu in the present case right after he was granted bail in another similar FIR pertaining to damaging the Red Fort premises was a "vicious" and "sinister" action of investigative authorities which amounts to "playing fraud with established criminal process", a Delhi court on Monday granted bail to Sidhu, stating that any further restraint upon his liberty would be "neither logical nor legal".

The court of Metropolitan Magistrate Sahil (MM) Gupta also observed that Sidhu's arrest in the present case shows that the investigating authorities have "scant regard to constitutional protections enshrined, protected and cherished under the Constitution of India".

During an earlier hearing, advocate Abhishek Gupta, on behalf of Sidhu, had argued that his client's arrest in the case was "malafide" and that contents of both the FIRs under which he has been arrested were similar in nature.

On this, the court in its order noted: "The sweeping power of investigation does not warrant subjecting a citizen each time to fresh investigation by the police in respect of the same incident, giving rise to one or more cognizable offences, consequent upon filing of successive FIRs whether before or after filing the final report".

MM Gupta further observed that fresh investigation based on the second and successive FIRs, not being a counter case, filed in connection with the same or connected cognizable offence alleged to have been committed in the course of same transaction and in respect of which pursuant to the first FIR either investigation is underway or final report under section 173(2) has been forwarded to the magistrate, is an "abuse of process and impermissible".

As per case records, Sidhu was arrested in connection with the Republic Day violence during the farmers' tractor rally on February 9, where he has been accused of "instigating" and "mobilizing" protestors to commit violence and disrespect the national flag, following which police got a 14-day custody in the case, followed by which he has been in judicial custody (JC) since February 23.

After being granted bail in the first FIR on April 16, which was communicated to his counsels on April 17, he was arrested in another FIR, lodged by an Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) official on January 28, related to the damage of Red Fort premises.

"The need and timing of the arrest is highly questionable because despite knowing that the accused has been lodged in JC since February 9, he was arrested on 17.04.2021, when he was granted regular bail in FIR No. 96/2021," the court order read.

"This clearly suggests that it was an attempt to defeat the bail order dated 16.04.2021 of Ld. ASJ and is a grave affront to personal liberty of the accused and runs foul of rights guaranteed under Article 21," MM Gupta said.

Additional Public Prosecutor, Ravi Kamboj, while arguing against the bail plea, had conceded to the fact that the timing of the arrest may be questionable but the accused should have moved the High Court for quashing the said FIR. "The court is of the opinion that it is the discretion of the accused whether to invoke the jurisdiction of the High Court u/s 482 Cr.P.C and it in no way precludes the accused from moving an application for regular bail before the concerned court," the court stated.

While noting these points, MM Gupta said that Sidhu's further incarceration in the present case would bear no fruit and therefore would be "unjustified", nor would the restoration of his liberty be detrimental to the investigation being conducted by police authorities.