The Supreme Court granted anticipatory bail to Patwari Gursewak Singh in a 2021 corruption case, criticizing the Punjab & Haryana High Court for passing a “cryptic and unusual” order. The Court said the four-year delay in arrest was itself a valid reason for bail.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court of India on Wednesday granted anticipatory bail to Gursewak Singh, a Patwari from Punjab, in a corruption case. While doing so, the top court also came down heavily on the Punjab and Haryana High Court for passing what it called a “cryptic and unusual” order on his bail plea.
A Bench of Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Sandeep Mehta was hearing the matter. Singh had challenged an order of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which, instead of deciding his anticipatory bail plea, had asked the Director General of Police (DGP) to explain why the charge sheet under Section 173(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) was not filed and why Singh was not arrested for nearly four years.
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The Supreme Court noted that such questions were irrelevant. The judges pointed out that the very fact that Singh was not arrested for four years after the case was registered was itself enough to grant anticipatory bail.
The Court said,
“We do not approve the manner in which the High Court has dealt with the plea of the anticipatory bail. Either the High Court should have allowed the application granting anticipatory bail or should have declined it on its own merits. Surprisingly, the High Court proceeded to grant anticipatory bail to a co-accused who is alleged to have actually accepted the bribe amount…the fact that the petitioner was not arrested for four years by itself was a good ground for the High Court to exercise its discretion and order grant of anticipatory bail.”
The case goes back to an FIR registered in 2021 at the Economic Offences Branch Police Station in Ludhiana. The FIR accused Singh and others of demanding and accepting bribes. He was booked under Sections 7 and 7A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, and Section 120B of the Indian Penal Code (criminal conspiracy).
After the case was filed, Singh was suspended from service. But his suspension was later revoked, and he was reinstated on 27 September 2023.
Even though the FIR was registered in 2021, for almost four years the police made no attempt to arrest Singh. In 2025, Singh received a notice from the Deputy Commissioner, directing him to appear before the Deputy Superintendent of Police of the Economic Offences Branch.
Fearing that he might be arrested, Singh went to the Punjab and Haryana High Court asking for anticipatory bail.
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The High Court, however, did not give a clear decision on his plea. Instead, it told the Punjab DGP to file an affidavit explaining why the charge sheet under Section 173(2) CrPC was not filed against the accused persons who were already arrested. Feeling aggrieved, Singh moved the Supreme Court against this order.
The apex court observed that even though the matter was still pending before the High Court, it was unnecessary to wait for the final decision. The judges decided to use their own powers and grant Singh bail directly.
The order stated,
“In the overall view of the matter, although the matter is pending before the High Court, yet we need not now wait for the High Court to pass the final order. We on our own exercise our discretion and order that in the event of the arrest of the petitioner in connection with First Information Report No.05/2021 registered with Economic Offence Branch Police Station, District Ludhiana, Punjab, he shall be released on bail subject to the terms and conditions that the Investigating Officer may deem fit to impose.”
The Court’s decision highlights that unnecessary delay in arresting an accused is itself a strong reason to grant bail, especially in corruption cases where the investigation lingers for years.
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Advocates Amit Gupta, Prannv Dhawan, Muskan Nagpal, and Arun Singh represented the petitioner before the Supreme Court.
On the other side, Additional Advocate General Vivek Jain and advocate Siddhant appeared for the State of Punjab.
Case Title:
Gursewak Singh v. State of Punjab.
Read Order:
Click Here To Read More Reports On Corruption Case
