Chandigarh, May 31 -- Observing that merely being declared an absconder or having multiple FIRs pending cannot by be grounds to deny bail, the Punjab and Haryana high court has granted regular bail to AAP MLA from Sanour, Harmeet Singh Pathanmajra, in a rape and cheating case registered at the Civil Lines police station in Patiala. Justice Tribhuvan Dahiya, in an order passed on May 29, held that the petitioner's entitlement to bail had to be examined on the facts of the present case. The court also noted that allegations that the MLA and his associates were threatening or pressuring the complainant and her brother had not been substantiated even prima facie, as no complaint had been registered in that regard. Pathanmajra was booked on September 1, 2025, under Sections 376 (rape), 420 (cheating) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code. During the investigation, Section 376 (2)(n) (repeated rape on same woman) was added, while Sections 494 (marrying against during lifetime of husband or wife) and 495 (concealment of former marriage) were later incorporated through a special report. Seeking bail, the MLA's counsel argued that the allegations were politically motivated and that he had been falsely implicated due to political rivalry. The defence pointed out that the complainant had earlier levelled similar allegations against a Punjab Police inspector in 2012, a case that ended in acquittal in 2013. It was also submitted that a prior inquiry conducted by the deputy inspector general of police, Ropar Range, in November 2024 had found no offence to be made out on the basis of the complaint. The defence contended that the complainant, a 45-year-old woman with a child, could not have been induced into a relationship on a false promise of marriage as alleged. It was further argued that details of the petitioner's marriage had already been disclosed in affidavits filed before election authorities in 2017 and 2022. Opposing the plea, the state and the complainant argued that the MLA had exploited the complainant on the false promise of marriage and later blackmailed her using secretly recorded videos. They also submitted that Pathanmajra had been declared a proclaimed person in December 2025 and was involved in 14 criminal cases. However, the high court observed that neither the petitioner's absconder status nor the pendency of other FIRs was sufficient to justify continued incarceration. Considering the overall facts and circumstances, the court ordered his release on regular bail subject to furnishing bail and surety bonds to the satisfaction of the trial court, and surrendering his passport. The relief is subject to the condition that his custody is not required in any other case. Earlier, on May 25, a Patiala court had granted bail to the MLA in a September 2025 mining case registered at the Julkan police station in the district....