Court No. - 73
Case :- CRIMINAL MISC ANTICIPATORY BAIL APPLICATION U/S 438 CR.P.C. No. - 5188 of 2021 Applicant :- Bharat Singh Opposite Party :- State of U.P.
Counsel for Applicant :- Rahul Kumar Sharma Counsel for Opposite Party :- G.A.
Hon'ble Siddharth,J.
Heard learned counsel for the applicant and learned A.G.A for the State.
Order on Criminal Misc. Exemption Application
This exemption application is allowed.
Order on Criminal Misc. Anticipatory Bail Application
The instant anticipatory bail application has been filed on behalf of the applicant, Bharat Singh, with a prayer to release him on bail in Case Crime No. 371 of 2019, under Sections- 406, 308 I.P.C., Police Station- Sikandrarao, District- Hathras, during pendency of trial.
The applicant has been implicated for offences u/s 308 I.P.C. and other sections. F.I.R has been lodged after 19 days of incident.
Learned counsel for the applicant states that charge-sheet has not been filed against the applicant. Investigation is still going on. The alleged offences are not made out against the applicant.
Learned A.G.A. has opposed the prayer for anticipatory bail of the applicant. He has submitted that in view of the seriousness of the allegations made against the applicant, he is not entitled to grant of anticipatory bail. The apprehension of the applicant is not founded on any material on record. Only on the basis of imaginary fear, anticipatory bail cannot be granted.
After considering the rival submissions, this case does not appears to be one wherein the applicant deserves to be enlarged on anticipatory bail for unlimited period considering paragraph 90 (1) of the judgement in the case of Sushila Aggarwal and Ors. vs. State (NCT of Delhi) and Ors.- MANU/SC/0100/2020. There is a case registered against the applicant. It cannot be definitely said when the police may apprehend him. After the lodging of F.I.R., the arrest can be made by the police at will. There is no definite period fixed for the police to arrest an accused against whom an F.I.R. has been lodged. The courts have repeatedly held that arrest should be the last option for the police and it should be restricted to those exceptional cases where arresting the accused is imperative or his custodial interrogation is required. Irrational and indiscriminate arrests are gross violation of human rights. In the case of Joginder Kumar v. State of Uttar Pradesh AIR 1994 SC 1349, the Apex Court has referred to the third report of National Police Commission wherein it is mentioned that arrests by the police in India is one of the chief source of corruption in the police. The report suggested that, by and large, nearly 60 percent of the arrests were either unnecessary or unjustified and that such unjustified police action accounted for 43.2 percent of expenditure of the jails. Personal liberty is a very precious fundamental rights and it should be curtailed only when it becomes imperative. According to the peculiar facts and circumstances of the case, the arrest of an accused should be made.
Having heard learned counsel for the parties and upon perusal of material brought on record as well as complicity of accused and also considering the second surge in the cases of novel coronavirus and possibility of further surge of the pandemic, the applicant deserves to be enlarged on anticipatory bail for a period of 90 days or till the cognizance is taken by the Court on the police report submitted u/s 173 (2) Cr.P.C. before the competent Court, whichever is earlier, on furnishing a personal bond of Rs. 50,000/- with two sureties each in the like amount to the satisfaction of the Station House Officer of the police station/ concerned Court, subject to the following conditions :-
(i) The applicant shall make himself available for interrogation by the police officer as and when required;
(ii) The applicant shall not directly or indirectly, make any inducement, threat or promise to any person acquainted with the facts of the case so as to dissuade from disclosing such facts to the Court or to any police officer;
(iii) The applicant shall not leave India without the previous permission of the Court and if he has passport, the same shall be deposited by him before the S.S.P./S.P. concerned.
(iv) The party shall file computer generated copy of such order downloaded from the official website of High Court Allahabad.
(v) The concerned Court/Authority/Official shall verify the authenticity of such computerized copy of the order from the official website of High Court Allahabad and shall make a declaration of such verification in writing.
In default of any of the conditions, the Investigating Officer/Govt. Advocate is at liberty to file appropriate application for cancellation of anticipatory bail granted to the applicant.
The Investigating Officer is directed to conclude the investigation, if pending, of the present case in accordance with law, expeditiously, independently without being prejudiced by any observations made by this Court while considering and deciding the present anticipatory bail application of the applicant.
The applicant is directed to produce a copy of this order downloaded from the official website of this Court before the S.S.P./S.P. concerned within ten days from today, if investigation is in progress, who shall ensure the compliance of present order.
Order Date :- 5.4.2021 KS