The Supreme Court of India, in a judgment delivered by Justice R. Mahadevan, has dismissed the appeal of Gurdeep Singh, former Assistant Superintendent of Central Jail, Ludhiana, upholding his conviction for conspiring to help an undertrial prisoner escape and assaulting escorting police officers. Singh had been sentenced by the Bathinda Fast Track Court in 2014, with the Punjab and Haryana High Court affirming the decision in 2023.
The case arose from a 2010 incident in which Head Constables Harjit Singh and Hardial Singh were escorting undertrial Kuldeep Singh to court. Gurdeep Singh allegedly persuaded them to travel back in a private vehicle occupied by two unknown men. Near village Kutiwal, the vehicle stopped, and the two men attacked the officers with red chilli powder, a knife, and a kirpan, attempting to free Kuldeep Singh. Public intervention thwarted the escape, but the attackers and Gurdeep Singh fled the scene.
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Although preliminary police inquiry had declared Gurdeep Singh innocent, he was later summoned under Section 319 CrPC during trial, based on the testimony of Harjit Singh. The prosecution argued that Singh's actions - arranging the vehicle, facilitating the presence of assailants, orchestrating the stop, and failing to help the victims - showed active participation in the conspiracy.
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The defence claimed false implication, no direct role, and reliance on the testimony of an "interested" witness. However, the Supreme Court found Harjit Singh's account consistent, corroborated by medical and circumstantial evidence, and sufficient under law. The Court reaffirmed that conspiracy can be proven through circumstantial evidence and that the credible testimony of even a single eyewitness can sustain conviction.
Case Title:- Gurdeep Singh vs. The State of Punjab
Case No.:- Criminal Appeal No. 705 of 2024
