Man accused of abducting law student over dog abuse gets anticipatory bail

The man was initially registered for alleged offences including causing hurt, wrongful restraint, abduction, extortion, assault and criminal intimidation. Later, some of the above-mentioned offences were deleted, and additional allegations including criminal conspiracy were added.

Justice Vikram Aggarwal heard a man’s plea seeking anticipatory bail in a dispute over alledgely torturing a law student.

Dispute over alleged dog abuse

According to the facts, on March 31, the law student, a dog lover, saw a video allegedly showing a man beating dogs, following which he went to the accused’s house to ask him not to do that, as they are voiceless. The student later filed a complaint on April 1 at the police station, Fatehabad.

The student alleged that the accused man got furious and said that he would teach him a lesson for becoming the protector of dogs, and with the help of others, forcibly took him on a motorcycle to the Auto Market. He alleged that they threatened him, beat him and forced him to write a statement that they did nothing to him, and took his Aadhaar card number and got him to sign.  

The student alleged that they forcibly removed his clothes, made him urinate on a heating rod and threatened to electrocute him with it, and later the men demanded Rs 50,000 from him and forced him to transfer Rs 1,000 through GPay.

According to the student, the men later took him back to the Auto Market and recorded a video of him stating that he had gone with them voluntarily and was leaving on his own. He also alleged that he was threatened to be killed if he disclosed the incident.

The student initially remained silent, but under family pressure, he narrated the whole incident, and they took him to the police station.

Subsequently, the accused man approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court seeking anticipatory bail. His counsel argued that the dispute arose after the student objected to a stray dog, that there was no medico-legal examination of the student to establish assault, and that the man had no antecedents. The counsel said that he was ready to join the investigation. 

On July 6, the court directed the man to join the investigation, and stated that in the event of arrest, he shall be released on interim bail to the satisfaction of the Arresting/Investigating Officer, subject to compliance of the provisions of Section 482(2) BNSS. 

The counsel appearing for the student submitted that he was still being threatened, and while the complainant was interning in the District Courts at Fatehabad, as he is a law student, he was threatened by certain persons at the instance of the accused man.

Advocate Narinder S Lucku appearing for the man, submitted that in compliance of the order dated July 6, the man had duly joined investigation and his custodial interrogation is not required. 

The counsel representing the State submitted that the man’s custodial interrogation was not required.

Anticipatory bail granted

The court allowed the anticipatory bail to the accused man after noting that he had joined the investigation and the State had said that his custodial interrogation was not required. The court made its July 6 order absolute, subject to conditions under Section 482(2) of the BNSS.

The court also stated that if the man violated the conditions of the order, the law stundent/ complainant would be free to take any legal remedy available to him.