Patiala: In a reprieve for extradited gangster Ramanjit Singh alias Romi, the Punjab and Haryana high court has granted him regular bail in the 2016 Nabha high-security jailbreak case, which includes charges under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).Setting aside a July 13 order by the Additional Sessions Judge, Patiala, a division bench comprising Justice Vinod S Bhardwaj and Justice Ravinder Malik ruled that Romi was entitled to bail after spending over eight years in continuous detention, while the trial against him remained at an infant stage.The relief follows an Aug 14 order by a Nabha magistrate granting Romi bail in an allied vehicle theft and forgery case, effectively securing him bail in both cases registered at Kotwali Nabha police station, said Romi’s counsel Shivam Sukheeja.Defence counsel Tanu Bedi, appearing alongside advocates Ankur Goyat and Ashish Pundir in the high court, submitted that Romi had been detained in Hong Kong since June 26, 2018, following an extradition request by India, before being brought to Amritsar Central Jail on Aug 23, 2024.Highlighting proportionality, the defence argued that similarly placed co-conspirators who stood trial had already received a maximum sentence of 10 years, meaning Romi had completed over 80% of his potential term. Furthermore, only one out of 151 prosecution witnesses had been partly examined so far.The senior deputy advocate general opposed the plea, arguing that Romi arranged foreign funding and logistical support for the escape. However, the bench held that prolonged custody, the slow pace of the trial and the 10-year benchmark awarded to co-accused warranted regular bail, subject to bail bonds and a strict bar against influencing witnesses.On Nov 27, 2016, around 15 to 20 armed assailants in police uniforms stormed the maximum security jail in Nabha, looted automatic rifles and fled in a four-vehicle convoy, freeing six high-profile prisoners.Based on disclosures by arrested gangsters Gurpreet Sekhon and Chanpreet Singh, investigators identified Romi as the Hong Kong-based mastermind behind arranging safe houses, vehicles and funding for the attackers.Romi was arrested via an Interpol Red Corner notice in Hong Kong in 2018 and extradited to India in Aug 2024 following protracted treaty litigation.In March 2023, Patiala Additional Sessions Judge H S Grewal convicted 22 accused in the primary jailbreak trial and acquitted six — Tejinder Sharma, Naresh Narang, Ravinder Vicky, Ranjit Singh, Mohammad Aasim and Jatinder — for lack of evidence.Eighteen convicts received 10-year rigorous imprisonment terms, including compromised officials assistant jail superintendent Bheem Singh and head warder Jagmeet Singh, who facilitated arms smuggling into the barracks.Bikkar Singh and Sukhchain Singh received 20 years on concurrent NDPS charges, while Gurpreet Mangewal and Sunil Kalra received five and three years, respectively. Ground assault commander Palwinder Singh alias Pinda was intercepted in Shamli, Uttar Pradesh, shortly after the escape.The Six EscapeesHarminder Singh Mintoo (KLF Chief): Arrested within 24 hours in New Delhi; died of cardiac arrest in jail in April 2018Harjinder Singh alias Vicky Gounder: Killed alongside associate Prema Lahoriya in a Jan 2018 police encounterGurpreet Singh Sekhon, Kulpreet Singh alias Neeta Deol, and Amandeep Singh Dhotian: Recaptured between 2016 and 2017; each was awarded 10-year sentences in 2023. However, Sekhon got bail in November that year following suspension of sentence by the high court. Appeal against him remains pendingKashmir Singh Galwadi: Arrested by the NIA from Bihar in May 2025
