Salikram v. State of U.P

Court No. - 72 Case :- CRIMINAL MISC. BAIL APPLICATION No. - 22834 of 2023 Applicant :- Salikram Opposite Party :- State of U.P. Counsel for Applicant :- Tahir Ali Counsel for Opposite Party :- G.A. Hon'ble Krishan Pahal,J.

¶1List has been revised.

¶2Heard Sri Tahir Ali, learned counsel for the applicant and Sri R.M. Yadav, learned A.G.A. for the State and perused the record.

¶3Applicant seeks bail in Case Crime No. 312 of 2022, under Sections 419, 420, 467, 468, 471 & 120-B of I.P.C., Police Station Phaphamau, District Allahabad, during the pendency of trial.

¶4As per prosecution story, the bank officials Ashish Kumar Patel, Prashant Kumar Kushwaha and other co-accused persons are stated to have colluded and illegally siphoned off the amount belonging to the informant to the tune of Rs. 16,97,500/- in various transactions.

¶5Learned counsel for the applicant has stated that the applicant has been falsely implicated in the present case due to ulterior motive. He has nothing to do with the said offence as alleged in the FIR. He is not named in the FIR. His name has come up later on during investigation. Learned counsel has further stated that no money has been transferred to the account of the applicant. Later on, it was revealed that the said money was transferred to the account of one Ajay Kumar and from his account, the money was transferred to the account of co-accused Lalti Devi. On delving deeply into the matter, it was revealed that the aadhar card of the applicant was mentioned at the time of opening of the account of so-called Ajay Kumar. The applicant does not know any person having name of Ajay Kumar.

¶6Several other submissions have been made on behalf of the applicant to demonstrate the falsity of the allegations made against him. The circumstances which, as per counsel, led to the false implication of the applicant have also been touched upon at length. There is no previous criminal history of the applicant. The applicant is languishing in jail since

08.11.2022. In case, the applicant is released on bail, he will not misuse the liberty of bail.

¶7Per contra, learned A.G.A. has vehemently opposed the bail application but unable to dispute the submissions raised by the learned counsel for the applicant and also the fact that the applicant has no previous criminal history.

¶8Considering the facts and circumstances of the case, submissions made by learned counsel for the parties, the evidence on record, pending trial and considering the complicity of accused, severity of punishment, at this stage, without expressing any opinion on the merits of the case, the Court is of the view that the applicant has made out a case for bail. The bail application is allowed.

¶9Let the applicant-Salikram involved in aforementioned case crime number be released on bail on furnishing a personal bond and two heavy sureties each in the like amount to the satisfaction of the court concerned subject to following conditions. i. The applicant will not tamper with the evidence during the trial. ii. The applicant will not pressurize/ intimidate the prosecution witness. iii. The applicant will appear before the trial court on the date fixed, unless personal presence is exempted. iv. The applicant shall not indulge in any criminal activity or commission of any crime after being released on bail. v. 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 or to any police officer or tamper with the evidence.

¶10In case of breach of any of the above conditions, the prosecution shall be at liberty to move bail cancellation application before this Court.

¶11Identity, status and residence proof of the applicant and sureties be verified by the court concerned before the bonds are accepted.

¶12It is made clear that observations made in granting bail to the applicant shall not in any way affect the learned trial Judge in forming his independent opinion on the testimony of the witnesses. (Justice Krishan Pahal) Order Date :- 13.10.2023 Siddhant High Court of Judicature at Allahabad