HC grants anticipatory bail to book binder in missing saroops case

Chandigarh: The Punjab and Haryana high court has granted anticipatory bail to Kulwant Singh, a 61-year-old book binder, in connection with the alleged disappearance and unauthorised handling of 328 ‘saroops' (holy scriptures) of Guru Granth Sahib.Granting relief to the accused, Justice Surya Partap Singh of the HC considered several factors, including the petitioner's age, absence of a prior criminal record, delay in registration of the FIR, and the predominantly documentary nature of evidence. The bench observed there was no material on record to suggest that Kulwant directly committed disrespect towards the holy scripture, or that he would tamper with evidence or influence witnesses if granted protection.An FIR was registered at Division-C police station of Amritsar Dec 7 lastyear. The case involves charges under multiple sections of the Indian Penal Code, including allegations of forgery, criminal conspiracy, breach of trust, and hurting religious sentiments, along with provisions of the Jagat Jot Shri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar Act, 2008. The FIR was lodged following representations by members of Sikh Sadbhavna Dal, based on findings of inquiry committees constituted by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC). The complaints relate to the reported disappearance of 328 sacred saroops that were allegedly in SGPC custody in 2016.According to the prosecution, KulSingh, who worked as a contractual "Jild Saaz" (book binder), prepared 61 saroops from excess scripture pages without written approval and failed to maintain official records. The complainant alleged unauthorised printing, misappropriation of funds amounting to Rs 9.82 lakh, destruction of records, and acts amounting to sacrilege.The case also referenced a fire incident at Gurudwara Ramsar, Amritsar, on May 19, 2016, in which several saroops were reportedly damaged. Subsequent internal inquiries by the SGPC in 2018 and a High-Level Enquiry Commission in 2020 noted large-scale irregularities, including missing records and unaccounted scripture pages.Counsel for the petitioner argued that Singh is a senior citizen with no criminal antecedents and was not a regular employee of the SGPC, but a contractor working since 2000. The defence emphasised that the FIR was lodged nearly 9.5 years after the alleged incidents and not by the SGPC itself.It was further argued that the evidence in the case was largely documentary in nature and that custodial interrogation would not yield additional material. The petitioner also contended that he acted on verbal instructions from superiors and had no role in financial misappropriation or deliberate disrespect to the scripture.After hearing all the parties, the HC granted him pre-arrest bail with directions to join the investigation as and when called by the investigating officer. MSID:: 128426603 413 |