Heard learned Counsel for the appellant-applicant, learned counsel for the complainant, learned AGA and perused the record.
This Criminal appeal under Section 14-A(2) of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 has been preferred by the appellant- Jwala Prasad @ Ram Gopal with the prayer to set aside the order dated 22.1.2020 passed by learned Special Judge (SC/ST Act), Pilibhit in Bail Application No. 35 of 2020 rejecting the bail application in Case Crime No. 445 of 2019 under Sections 302, 307, 34, 504 I.P.C. and Section 3(2)5 SC/ST Act, P.S.- Puranpur, District- Pilibhit.
Allegations in the first information report dated 14.9.2019 lodged almost after seven days of the alleged incident are that the husband of the informant had gone to agricultural field at about 11 PM in the night of 7.9.2019 and was irrigating his field that the named accused persons started taking cow from his field for slaughtering. It is further alleged that as soon as the informant opposed the accused persons, they started abusing her and her husband with casteist remarks and thereafter they also opened fire upon the husband of the informant, as a result of which he died. It is further alleged that one Kalicharan and Liladhar, resident of the same village, who were also present on the spot of incident, have also suffered injuries.
It has been submitted by learned Counsel for the appellant-applicant that the appellant is quite innocent and has been falsely implicated for ulterior motives. It is further submitted that the post mortem report of the deceased who died allegedly because of the fire arms shot does not support theory of shooting him down as alleged in the FIR. It is further submitted that the applicant has been working on the post of watcher in the Forest Department and at his pointing out the dead body was recovered from the forest area of the Forest Department in the morning of 7.9.2019 itself. It is further stated that the inquest was prepared in presence of wife of the deceased who is the complainant/informant here but at that time she did not complained of any such incident as later on came to be alleged in the FIR. Even in her statement recorded by the police under Section 161 Cr.P.C. she has taken almost different stand to what has been stated in the FIR. It is also submitted that the recovery of bodkin (suja) from the applicant is a planted recovery against him. It is next submitted that the identically placed co-accused, namely Deshraj and Ranjeet have been granted bail by this Court vide orders dated 14.2.2020 and 29.7.2020 passed in Criminal Misc. Bail Application No.6972 of 2020 and Criminal Appeal No.1623 of 2020 respectively, copy of the orders are placed at Annexure nos.14 and 15 to the affidavit filed in support of this appeal/bail application. It is also argued that there is no criminal history to the credit of the applicant. It is also submitted that in the wake of heavy pendency of cases in the Court, there is no chance of any early conclusion of trial. The applicant is languishing in jail since 17.10.2019.
Per contra, the appeal has been opposed vehemently by the learned A.G.A. as well as the counsel for the complainant/informant but could not dispute the aforesaid facts.
I have considered the rival submissions so made and having gone through the entire record including the order by which, bail application of the appellant-applicant has been rejected, impugned herein this appeal. Nothing convincing has been argued on behalf of the complainant/State to justify and sustain the order of the court below rejecting the bail applications of the appellants.
Thus, in view of the above and keeping in view the evidence, complicity of accused, I am of the view that the appellant has made out a case for bail.
Accordingly, this appeal is allowed and the impugned order dated 22.1.2020 rejecting the bail of the appellant is set aside.
Let the above named accused-appellant involved in the aforesaid crime be released on bail on his furnishing a personal bond and two sureties each of the like amount to the satisfaction of Court concerned subject to the condition that applicant shall cooperate in the trial and will not jump the bail.
The concerned Court/Authority/Official is further directed to 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.
Order Date :- 2.2.2021/Deepika