Jalandhar Police Commissioner, IPS Dhanpreet Kaur, has been fined Rs. 1 lakh by the Punjab and Haryana High Court. According to reports, this action was taken due to repeatedly providing false information regarding the bail application of an accused in an NDPS Act case. The High Court also reprimanded her in this regard.
The High Court has directed that the fine amount be deposited in the Chief Minister’s Disaster Relief Fund within two weeks. A warning was also issued that if the money is not deposited within the stipulated time, the Jalandhar Police Commissioner will have to appear personally before the High Court.
It is noteworthy that this action was taken in a 2023 case where 100 grams and 150 grams of heroin were recovered from Raghubir Singh and his associate respectively at the Navi Baradari police station in Jalandhar Commissionerate. The accused had filed a bail application in the High Court. The Punjab government had stated that 18 cases were registered against him and the statements of nine witnesses were still pending. However, two years later, when the accused filed a new bail application, it was found that only two witnesses had testified, and this time the government claimed that 16 cases were registered against the accused.
The petitioner’s lawyer stated that in reality, only two cases are registered against the accused, in one of which he has already been granted bail. The court commented that the government is continuously misleading the courts and such false information affects the seriousness of the criminal justice system. Calling this negligence unacceptable, the High Court imposed a fine of Rs. 1 lakh on the Jalandhar Police Commissioner and warned that such a mistake will not be tolerated in the future.
