Raju Pahalwan v. State of U.P

Court No. - 66 Case :- CRIMINAL MISC. BAIL APPLICATION No. - 43681 of 2023 Applicant :- Raju Pahalwan Opposite Party :- State of U.P. Counsel for Applicant :- Jai Singh Yadav,Patgendra Bhushan Misra Counsel for Opposite Party :- G.A.,Dashrath Lal Hon'ble Ajay Bhanot,J. By means of this bail application the applicant has prayed to be enlarged on bail in Case Crime No. 429 of 2016 at Police Station Naini, District Allahabad under Section 147, 148, 149, 307, 302 I.P.C. and Section 7 of Criminal Law Amendment Act. The applicant is in jail since

19.06.2016. The applicant is a repeat offender having criminal history of committing heinous offences. Parity claimed with other co-accused persons is misplaced, inasmuch as, no such criminal history is recorded in the order passed by this Court granting the bail to the other co-accused. The other co-accused namely Ashok had role of criminal conspiracy while role of shooting is assigned to the applicant. The offence is grave. There is likelihood that the applicant had committed the offence. At this stage, no case for bail is made out. Without going into the merits of the case, the bail application is dismissed. This Court is disturbed by the delay in the trial. Trials are taking inordinately long to decide at District Prayagraj. This state of affairs cannot be countenanced by the Court. District Judge, Prayagraj is directed to examine this matter and ensure that appropriate directions are issued to all trial judges and effective measures are taken to complete the trials expeditiously. The District Judge at Prayagraj shall ensure that the trial now proceeds on a day to day basis. The District Judge as well as learned trial judge are responsible for complying with the directions of this Court. The trial court is directed to conclude the trial within a period of six months from the date of receipt of a certified copy of this order. The learned trial court shall proceed with the hearing on a day to day basis to ensure that the above stipulated timeline of six months is strictly adhered to. All witnesses and counsels are directed to cooperate with the trial proceedings. The trial court has also to be conscious of the rights of the accused persons and is under obligation of law to ensure that all expeditious, necessary and coercive measures as per law are adopted to ensure the presence of witnesses. Counsels or parties who delay or impede the proceedings should not only be discouraged from doing so but in appropriate cases exemplary costs should also be imposed on such parties/ counsel. The learned trial court shall issue summons by regular process as per Section 62 Cr.P.C. and also by registered post as provided under Section 69 Cr.P.C. to expedite the trial. The learned trial court shall promptly take out all strict coercive measures against all the witnesses in accordance with law who fail to appear in the trial proceeding. Counsels or parties who delay or impede the proceedings should not only be discouraged from doing so but in appropriate cases exemplary costs should also be imposed on such parties/ counsel. The police authorities shall ensure that warrants or any coercive measures as per law taken out by the learned trial court to ensure that the attendance of the witnesses are promptly executed. The Deputy Commissioner of Police, Prayagraj, shall file an affidavit before the trial court on the date fixed regarding status of execution of the warrants/service of summons taken out by the learned trial court. In case there is a failure on part of the police authorities to execute the warrants or other coercive measures, the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Prayagraj, shall state the reasons for the same in the said affidavit and also show the steps taken to execute the warrants. The Deputy Commissioner of Police, Prayagraj, shall simultaneously inform the Additional Director General of Police (ADG) Prayagraj Zone, about the aforesaid failure of the police authorities in the first instance to execute the warrants and coercive measures issued by the learned trial court. If required, the Additional Director General of Police (ADG) Prayagraj Zone, may issue an appropriate directions to ensure that the warrants issued are promptly executed by the learned trial court. The delay in execution of warrants and consequent absence of witnesses is one of the principal causes of delays in criminal trials and has to be addressed effectively by all stakeholders. The trial judge shall submit a weekly report on the progress of trial and the steps taken to comply with this order to the learned District Judge. The District Judge shall submit a compliance report regarding the status of the trial and the steps taken to comply with the orders of this Court on a fortnightly basis before the Hon'ble Administrative Judge. A copy of this order be communicated to the learned trial judge through the learned District Judge, Prayagraj by the Registrar (Compliance) by FAX Order Date :- 13.10.2023 Dhananjai High Court of Judicature at Allahabad