{"id":6067,"date":"2025-08-15T00:25:45","date_gmt":"2025-08-14T18:55:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/?p=6067"},"modified":"2025-08-15T00:28:59","modified_gmt":"2025-08-14T18:58:59","slug":"hardeep-singh-v-state-of-punjab-2014-case-summary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/bharatiya-nagarik-suraksha-sanhita\/hardeep-singh-v-state-of-punjab-2014-case-summary\/","title":{"rendered":"Hardeep Singh v. State of Punjab 2014 (Case Summary)"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"6067\" class=\"elementor elementor-6067\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-1a7ddeff elementor-section-full_width elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default wpr-particle-no wpr-jarallax-no wpr-parallax-no wpr-sticky-section-no\" data-id=\"1a7ddeff\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-38a1ac07\" data-id=\"38a1ac07\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-inner-section elementor-element elementor-element-4bee4a24 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default wpr-particle-no wpr-jarallax-no wpr-parallax-no wpr-sticky-section-no\" data-id=\"4bee4a24\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-inner-column elementor-element elementor-element-7f345778\" data-id=\"7f345778\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-52905f6c elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"52905f6c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Hardeep Singh v. State of Punjab 2014 (Case Summary)<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5f6c07a2 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"5f6c07a2\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1536\" height=\"864\" src=\"https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/wp-content\/uploads\/Fawyerz-72-1536x864.png\" class=\"attachment-1536x1536 size-1536x1536 wp-image-6069\" alt=\"Hardeep Singh v. State of Punjab\" srcset=\"https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/wp-content\/uploads\/Fawyerz-72-1536x864.png 1536w, https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/wp-content\/uploads\/Fawyerz-72-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/wp-content\/uploads\/Fawyerz-72-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/wp-content\/uploads\/Fawyerz-72-150x84.png 150w, https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/wp-content\/uploads\/Fawyerz-72-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/wp-content\/uploads\/Fawyerz-72.png 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1536px) 100vw, 1536px\" title=\"\">\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5fdb1b91 elementor-grid-0 elementor-widget elementor-widget-wpr-sharing-buttons\" data-id=\"5fdb1b91\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"wpr-sharing-buttons.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wpr-sharing-buttons elementor-grid wpr-sharing-official wpr-sharing-label-off wpr-sharing-label-tr\"><div class=\"elementor-grid-item\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/bharatiya-nagarik-suraksha-sanhita\/hardeep-singh-v-state-of-punjab-2014-case-summary\/\" class=\"wpr-sharing-icon wpr-sharing-facebook-f\" title=\"\" target=\"_blank\"><i class=\"fab fa-facebook-f\"><\/i><\/a><\/div><div class=\"elementor-grid-item\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/bharatiya-nagarik-suraksha-sanhita\/hardeep-singh-v-state-of-punjab-2014-case-summary\/&title=Hardeep Singh v. State of Punjab 2014 (Case Summary)&summary=This case clarified the scope of a magistrate or court&#039;s power to summon additional accused during the trial, even if their names were not in the charge sheet. The Supreme Court explained what \u201cinquiry\u201d means&source=https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/bharatiya-nagarik-suraksha-sanhita\/hardeep-singh-v-state-of-punjab-2014-case-summary\/\" class=\"wpr-sharing-icon wpr-sharing-linkedin-in\" title=\"\" target=\"_blank\"><i class=\"fab fa-linkedin-in\"><\/i><\/a><\/div><div class=\"elementor-grid-item\"><a href=\"mailto:?subject=Hardeep Singh v. State of Punjab 2014 (Case Summary)&body=https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/bharatiya-nagarik-suraksha-sanhita\/hardeep-singh-v-state-of-punjab-2014-case-summary\/\" class=\"wpr-sharing-icon wpr-sharing-envelope\" title=\"\" target=\"_blank\"><i class=\"fas fa-envelope\"><\/i><\/a><\/div><div class=\"elementor-grid-item\"><a href=\"https:\/\/api.whatsapp.com\/send?text=*Hardeep Singh v. State of Punjab 2014 (Case Summary)*%0ahttps:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/bharatiya-nagarik-suraksha-sanhita\/hardeep-singh-v-state-of-punjab-2014-case-summary\/\" class=\"wpr-sharing-icon wpr-sharing-whatsapp\" title=\"\" target=\"_blank\"><i class=\"fab fa-whatsapp\"><\/i><\/a><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4a8bd25d elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"4a8bd25d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This case clarified the scope of a magistrate or court&#8217;s power to summon additional accused during the trial, even if their names were not in the charge sheet. The Supreme Court explained what \u201cinquiry\u201d means under Section 319 CrPC and settled the confusion around when and how this power can be exercised.<\/span><\/p><div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_82_2 ez-toc-wrap-left counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #000000;color:#000000\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #000000;color:#000000\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/bharatiya-nagarik-suraksha-sanhita\/hardeep-singh-v-state-of-punjab-2014-case-summary\/#Facts_of_Hardeep_Singh_v_State_of_Punjab\" >Facts of Hardeep Singh v. State of Punjab<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/bharatiya-nagarik-suraksha-sanhita\/hardeep-singh-v-state-of-punjab-2014-case-summary\/#Issues_framed\" >Issues framed<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/bharatiya-nagarik-suraksha-sanhita\/hardeep-singh-v-state-of-punjab-2014-case-summary\/#Subordinate_Court_Judgment\" >Subordinate Court Judgment<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/bharatiya-nagarik-suraksha-sanhita\/hardeep-singh-v-state-of-punjab-2014-case-summary\/#Judgment_of_Hardeep_Singh_v_State_of_Punjab\" >Judgment of Hardeep Singh v. State of Punjab<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/bharatiya-nagarik-suraksha-sanhita\/hardeep-singh-v-state-of-punjab-2014-case-summary\/#Refer_to_the_Judgment_below\" >Refer to the Judgment below.\u00a0<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Facts_of_Hardeep_Singh_v_State_of_Punjab\"><\/span><span style=\"color: #993300;\"><b>Facts of Hardeep Singh v. State of Punjab<\/b><\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2><ol><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In June\u202f2004, Hardeep Singh and others were charged with offences under Sections\u202f326,\u202f336 and\u202f427\u202fIPC arising from an assault and property damage while ploughing leased land.<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">During the trial before the Sessions Judge, the prosecution\u2019s own witnesses implicated two additional persons who had not been named in the charge sheet.<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An application under Section\u202f319\u202fCrPC was made to summon those two individuals as accused; the Sessions Judge and the High Court both refused to exercise the power.<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hardeep Singh then appealed to the Supreme Court to clarify the proper scope and exercise of Section\u202f319.<\/span><\/li><\/ol><h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Issues_framed\"><\/span><span style=\"color: #993300;\"><b>Issues framed<\/b><\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2><ol><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whether a court can summon additional persons as accused during the trial even if they were not chargesheeted by the police?<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whether the term \u201cinquiry\u201d under Section 319 CrPC includes the trial stage?<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whether the standard of evidence for summoning a new accused is the same as for framing charges?<\/span><\/li><\/ol><h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Subordinate_Court_Judgment\"><\/span><span style=\"color: #993300;\"><b>Subordinate Court Judgment<\/b><\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The trial court had refused to summon the additional accused. The High Court also declined to interfere, leading to an appeal before the Supreme Court for clarification on Section 319.<\/span><\/p><h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Judgment_of_Hardeep_Singh_v_State_of_Punjab\"><\/span><span style=\"color: #993300;\"><b>Judgment of Hardeep Singh v. State of Punjab<\/b><\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Supreme Court interpreted Section 319 CrPC (now Section 357 BNSS) and held that a court has the power to summon someone as an accused even during the trial, as long as evidence on record points toward their involvement in the offence. The Court clarified that \u201cinquiry\u201d under the section includes both pre-trial and trial stages.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/><\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Court explained that the power under Section 319 is extraordinary and must be used with care. However, it also said that courts should not hesitate to exercise this power when strong evidence appears during the trial. The standard of proof required is higher than mere suspicion but less than full proof of guilt it must show strong involvement prima facie.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/><\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In its final decision, the Court said that fair trial means all real offenders must be brought to justice, and not just those named in the charge sheet. The case reaffirmed that trial courts are not helpless and can act upon evidence that emerges in court. It directed that persons against whom such strong evidence comes up can be summoned at any stage before the judgment is delivered.<\/span><\/p><h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Refer_to_the_Judgment_below\"><\/span><span style=\"color: #993300;\"><b>Refer to the Judgment below.\u00a0<\/b><\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d624bd elementor-widget elementor-widget-pdfjs-viewer\" data-id=\"d624bd\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"pdfjs-viewer.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<iframe width=\"\" height=\"700\" src=\"https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/wp-content\/plugins\/pdfjs-viewer-for-elementor\/\/assets\/js\/pdfjs\/web\/viewer.html?file=https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/wp-content\/uploads\/41145-1.pdf\"><\/iframe>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-11cb5074 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default wpr-particle-no wpr-jarallax-no wpr-parallax-no wpr-sticky-section-no\" data-id=\"11cb5074\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-3dea164f\" data-id=\"3dea164f\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This case clarified the scope of a magistrate or court&#8217;s power to summon additional accused during the trial, even if their names were not in the charge sheet. The Supreme Court explained what \u201cinquiry\u201d means<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":6069,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[122],"tags":[199,198,197],"class_list":["post-6067","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bharatiya-nagarik-suraksha-sanhita","tag-427-ipc","tag-inquiry","tag-section-319-crpc"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6067","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6067"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6067\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6075,"href":"https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6067\/revisions\/6075"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6069"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6067"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6067"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fawyerz.in\/judgments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6067"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}