Great Milk Robbery Court Spills Bail Guard Rs 7 68 Lakh Heist

A security guard, an 11,800-kilogram tanker and a milk theft worth Rs 7,68 lakh-these were the elements of a peculiar case before the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which recently granted bail to the guard accused of being involved in the alleged theft.

Justice Manisha Batra observed that the object of bail is to secure the appearance of the accused during trial, and it cannot be used as a form of punishment or preventive detention, and held that the guard had made out a case for bail.

“No useful purpose would be served by detaining the petitioner in custody anymore. The well-settled proposition of law is that bail is the rule and jail is an exception,” the August 12 order said.

The case arose from an alleged milk theft at Modern Dairies Ltd. in Shamgarh, Karnal, on the night of December 17, 2025. According to the complaint, the tanker driver brought paneer whey to the dairy, and the tanker weighed 32,360 Kilograms. After unloading it, the weight of the tanker was 11,800 Kilograms, allegedly connected his tanker to the plant’s milk tank and filled it with around 9800 litres.

Security staff stopped the tanker near the main gate and allegedly found 9,110 kg of milk worth Rs 7.68 lakh inside the tanker. The dairy alleged that the tanker driver was stealing milk in connivance with co-accused and some other officials of the plant, and had been committing theft of milk etc., thereby causing huge loss to Modern Dairies Ltd.

After registration of an FIR, investigation proceedings were initiated; a security guard at the plant was arrested on December 19, 2025. During the investigation, police allegedly found that the accused had been sending milk outside the plant. Suspicious bank transactions amounting to Rs 45 lakhs were found to have taken place in the bank account of the co-accused.

Advocate Pankaj Bali for the security guard argued that he was simply a guard temporarily deputed in the milk plant, and had been nominated based on the disclosure statement of the co-accused. It was submitted that he had no control over the loading mechanism or internal pumping operations in the dairy plant, which were exclusively managed by the processing operators and helpers of the plant, and was not responsible for the actions of other employees of the plant.

The counsel contended that the entire loading process in the dairy plant was monitored by CCTV and overseen by multiple layers of security, while his duty was only to guard the premises of the company. It was argued that his antecedents were clean, and no recovery remains to be effected from him. It was argued that no useful purpose would be served by detaining him in custody anymore, and the petition deserves to be allowed.

Assistant Advocate General Neeraj Poswal, while placing on record the custody certificate of the petitioner, has submitted that taking into consideration the gravity of the allegations as levelled against him, he does not deserve to be extended the benefit of bail. There are chances of his absconding or committing similar offences if the benefit of bail is extended.

The court observed that the security guard had been in custody since December 19, 2025, and was no longer required for further investigation. The court also noted that the trial would take considerable time to conclude.

The court said no useful purpose would be served by keeping the man in custody any longer. It reiterated that “bail is the rule and jail is an exception” and that pre-trial detention should not become a substitute for post-conviction imprisonment. The court granted bail to the man.

Somya Panwar is a legal journalist at The Indian Express (Digital), where she covers the various High Courts across the country and the Supreme Court of India. Her writing is driven by a deep interest in how law influences society, particularly in areas of gender, feminism, and women’s rights. She is especially drawn to stories that examine questions of equality, autonomy, and social justice through the lens of the courts. Her work aims to make complex legal developments accessible, contextual, and relevant to everyday readers, with a focus on explaining what court decisions mean beyond legal jargon and how they shape public life. Alongside reporting, she manages the social media presence for Indian Express Legal, where she designs and curates posts using her understanding of digital trends, audience behaviour, and visual communication. Combining legal insight with strategic content design, she works on building engagement and expanding the desk’s digital reach. Somya holds a B.A. LL.B and a Master’s degree in Journalism. Before moving fully into media, she gained experience in litigation and briefly worked in corporate, giving her reporting a strong foundation. ... Read More