Court No. - 66
Case :- CRIMINAL MISC. BAIL APPLICATION No. - 47439 of 2021 Applicant :- Gangaram Pradhan Opposite Party :- State of U.P. Counsel for Applicant :- Narayan Singh(Kushwaha) Counsel for Opposite Party :- G.A.
Hon'ble Ajay Bhanot,J.
Heard Shri Narayan Singh Kushwaha, learned counsel for the applicant and Sri Nafees Ahmad, learned AGA for the State.
A first information report was lodged as Case Crime No.0220 of 2021 at Police Station- Akrabad District-Aligarh under Sections 420, 467, 468, 471, 272, 273 IPC and Section 60 (A) Excise Act.
The bail application of the applicant was rejected by learned Sessions Judge, Aligarh, on 09.09.2021.
The applicant is in jail since 31.05.2021, pursuant to the said F.I.R.
Shri Narayan Singh Kushwaha, learned counsel for the applicant contends that the applicant has been falsely implicated in the instant case. As per the prosecution case the property from where the illicit liquor was recovered belongs to the applicant. It is submitted that the applicant has let out the said property to one Rohit Kumar. The said Rohit Kumar has been in possession of the disputed property since the execution of the rent agreement. The applicant has no concern nor is responsible for the activities on the property since it is in the possession of Rohit Kumar. The illicit liquor were planted on the applicant to frame him in the instant case to show proficiency of police investigators. The applicant has no concern with the illicit liquor. No forensic science laboratory report has been submitted which confirms that the seized liquor is illicit or noxious. Explaining the criminal history of the applicant learned counsel for the applicant contends that the applicant has become a soft target and a convenient scapegoat for the police authorities who repeatedly nominated him in a number of cases only to burnish their professional credentials. The aforesaid cases do not reflect the criminal trait of the applicant and have no bearing on the instant case.
Learned A.G.A could not satisfactorily dispute the aforesaid submissions from the record. However, he does not contest the criminal history of the applicant as disclosed in the bail application.
Courts have taken notice of the overcrowding of jails during the current pandemic situation (Ref.: Suo Motu Writ Petition (c) No. 1/2020, Contagion of COVID 19 Virus in prisons before the Supreme Court of India). These circumstances shall also be factored in while considering bail applications on behalf of accused persons.
I see merit in the submissions of the learned counsel for the applicant and hold that the applicant is entitled to be enlarged on bail.
In the light of the preceding discussion and without making any observations on the merits of the case, the bail application is allowed.
Let the applicant-Gangaram Pradhan involved in Case Crime No.220 of 2021 at Police Station- Akrabad District-Aligarh under Sections 420, 467, 468, 471, 272, 273, 120-B IPC and Section 60 (A) Excise Act, be released on bail on furnishing a personal bond and two sureties each in the like amount to the satisfaction of the court concerned subject to following conditions.
1. The applicant will not tamper with the evidence during the trial.
2. The applicant will not influence any witness.
3. The applicant will appear before the trial court on the date fixed, unless personal presence is exempted.
4. 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 him from disclosing such facts to the Court to any police officer or tamper with the evidence.
In case of breach of any of the above conditions, the prosecution shall be at liberty to move bail cancellation application before this Court.
Order Date :- 22.12.2021 Nadeem