Himanshu v. State of U.P. and 3 Others

Court No. - 66 Case :- CRIMINAL MISC. BAIL APPLICATION No. - 40781 of 2023 Applicant :- Himanshu Opposite Party :- State Of U.P. And 3 Others Counsel for Applicant :- Ashutosh Singh Counsel for Opposite Party :- G.A. Hon'ble Ajay Bhanot,J. This is the second bail application. By means of the the bail application the applicant has prayed to be enlarged on bail in Case Crime No. 80 of 2022 at Police Station-Jani, District-Meerut under Sections 376D, 383, 506 IPC and Section 3/4 POCSO Act. The applicant is in jail since 15.03.2022. The first bail application of the applicant was rejected by this Court on 26.07.2022. The following arguments made by Shri Ashutosh Singh, learned counsel assisted by Shri Aman Yadav, learned counsel on behalf of the applicant, which could not be satisfactorily refuted by Shri Chandan Agrawal, learned AGA from the record, entitle the applicant for grant of bail:

¶1The applicant is a law abiding citizen who cooperated with the police investigations and had joined the trial.

¶2The applicant did not influence the witness or tamper with the evidence.

¶3Various exculpatory circumstances has been pointed out in the testimonies of the witnesses. However, the Court does not propose to appraise the evidences at this stage as it may influence the trial.

¶4The 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.

¶5The prosecution witnesses are deliberately delaying the conduct of the trial to prolong the detention of the applicant.

¶6Inordinate 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.

¶7As per the status report sent by the learned trial court, the prosecution proposes to examine 12 witnesses but till date only 3 witnesses have been examined.

¶8All other co-accused have been enlarged on bail.

¶9The applicant does not have any criminal history apart from this case.

¶10The 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 his 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-Himanshu 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 :- 17.10.2023 Jaswant High Court of Judicature at Allahabad