Vishnu Kumar v. State of U.P

Court No. - 66 Case :- CRIMINAL MISC. BAIL APPLICATION No. - 38113 of 2023 Applicant :- Vishnu Kumar Opposite Party :- State of U.P. Counsel for Applicant :- Rajeev Tiwari Counsel for Opposite Party :- G.A. Hon'ble Ajay Bhanot,J. By means of this bail application the applicant has prayed to be enlarged on bail in Case Crime No. 160 of 2022 at Police Station Tirwa District Kannauj under Section 366, 120B, 302, 201 I.P.C. The applicant is in jail since

31.07.2022. The bail application of the applicant was rejected by the learned trial court on 07.09.2022. The following arguments made by Shri Anurag Dubey, learned counsel holding brief of Shri Rajeev Tiwari, learned counsel on behalf of the applicant, which could not be satisfactorily refuted by Shri Paritosh Kumar Malviya, learned AGA from the record, entitle the applicant for grant of bail:

¶1The applicant was not named in the F.I.R.

¶2One Ramvir has been nominated as the principal offender in the F.I.R.

¶3The applicant has been nominated in a statement made by the principal offender Ramvir before the police authorities while in police custody of the latter. The said statement insofar as it implicates the applicant is not admissible in evidence.

¶4The applicant resides in Punjab and is only acquaintance of the principal offender.

¶5The applicant simply happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong person.

¶6The applicant had no motive to commit the crime.

¶7Incriminating recoveries were infact made from the principal offender Ramvir and the applicant has been falsely implicated since he happened to be with the said Ramvir at the time of his arrest.

¶8Role of the applicant is distinguishable from the principal offender Ramvir.

¶9There is no direct evidence against the applicant. This is a case of circumstantial evidence.

¶10Chain of incriminating circumstances against the applicant is not complete.

¶11Prosecution evidence does not connect the applicant with the crime.

¶12The applicant does not have any criminal history apart from this case.

¶13The applicant is a law abiding citizen who cooperated with the police investigations and had joined the trial.

¶14The trial is moving at a snail's pace and is not likely to conclude anytime in the near future. The applicant is not responsible for the delay in the trial.

15.The applicant never influenced witnesses and tampered with the evidence.

¶16Inordinate delay in concluding trial had has led to virtually an indefinite imprisonment of the applicant without there being any credible evidence to implicate him in the offence and violates the rights of the applicant to speedy trial.

¶17The status report sent by the learned trial court records that the prosecution proposes to examine 15 witnesses to bring home the charges. Till date only four prosecution witnesses have been examined.

¶18The said report also discloses that one prosecution witness Arvind has not been responding to the summons nor has appeared in pursuance of the bailable warrant.

¶19The prosecution witness is deliberately delaying the conduct of the trial only to prolong the incarceration of the applicant.

¶20The applicant is not a flight risk. The applicant being a law abiding citizen has always cooperated with the investigation and undertakes to cooperate with the court proceedings. There is no possibility of her influencing witnesses, tampering with the evidence or reoffending. 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-Vishnu Kumar be released on bail in the aforesaid case crime number, on furnishing a personal bond and two sureties each in the like amount to the satisfaction of the court below. The following conditions be imposed in the interest of justice:-

(i) The applicant will not tamper with the evidence or influence any witness during the trial.

(ii) The applicant will appear before the trial court on the date fixed, unless personal presence is exempted. Order Date :- 16.10.2023 Dhananjai High Court of Judicature at Allahabad