In a significant development, the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Tuesday suspended the life sentence awarded to senior IPS officer Zahur Haider Zaidi and granted him bail. This decision pertains to the high-profile Kotkhai custodial death case, which is linked to the investigation of the infamous 2017 Gudiya rape and murder in Himachal Pradesh.
Court Cites Prima Facie Doubts and Prolonged Incarceration
The court, while directing Zaidi's release on a bail bond of Rs 25,000, stated that the relief was being granted pending the disposal of his criminal appeal. A division bench comprising Justice Anoop Chitkara and Justice Sukhvinder Kaur cited prima facie doubts and the prolonged period of incarceration already undergone by the convict as key reasons for the decision.
The bench noted that Zaidi has already spent more than five years in custody, including remission. Given the substantial backlog of criminal appeals, the court observed there was no likelihood of the matter being heard finally in the near future, making a case for suspension of sentence.
Key Findings of the High Court
The High Court's order highlighted several crucial points that influenced its interim decision. It held that Zaidi was not physically present at the Kotkhai police station at the time the custodial death occurred on the intervening night of July 18 and 19, 2017.
Furthermore, the court recorded that Zaidi was on a pre-sanctioned leave for several days prior to the incident to perform the last rites of his father. The bench made a pointed observation regarding the nature of the injuries that led to the death of Suraj Singh, a 29-year-old accused in the Gudiya case.
"It appears that the injuries... point out towards the usual brutal and crude methods of the police when they are tortured in custody but certainly accused (Zaidi) was not present in the police station at that time and he cannot be attributed such injuries which were not caused in his presence. Further, there was no motive for the accused to have caused the death of Suraj," the bench stated.
Background of the Kotkhai and Gudiya Case
The case originates from a tragic incident in July 2017. A minor girl, popularly referred to as Gudiya, was found dead in the forest area of Kotkhai in Shimla on July 6, 2017. This was just two days after her family had lodged a missing report with the police.
The initial investigation was conducted by the Himachal Pradesh police, during which six suspects were arrested. The case took a grim turn when one of these suspects, Suraj Singh, died in police custody. Following nationwide outrage over the custodial death, the investigation was transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The CBI probed both the rape-murder of the schoolgirl and the subsequent custodial death.
Zaidi, who was serving as the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and heading a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the rape-murder, was later convicted. In January of this year, a CBI court in Chandigarh awarded him life imprisonment for criminal conspiracy and multiple offences, including murder, for the custodial death of Suraj Singh. The trial of the case was shifted to Chandigarh on the directions of the Supreme Court.
Observations Limited to Bail, Final Appeal Pending
The High Court was careful to clarify the scope of its ruling. It made it explicitly clear that its observations regarding Zaidi's absence and the lack of motive were strictly limited to deciding the suspension of his sentence and the grant of bail.
The court emphasized that these observations would not influence the final adjudication of the criminal appeal on its merits. The core legal battle, where Zaidi will challenge his conviction and life sentence, remains pending before the higher judiciary.
In the wider context of the case, while several police officers were convicted for their roles in the custodial death, one SP-rank officer was acquitted. The High Court's decision to grant bail to the senior IPS officer marks a new, albeit interim, chapter in this long-running legal saga that has captured national attention for over six years.
