Smt. Kusum Devi @ Kusum Gupta v. State of U.P. and Another

Court No. - 72 Case :- CRIMINAL MISC ANTICIPATORY BAIL APPLICATION U/S 438 CR.P.C. No. - 11619 of 2023 Applicant :- Smt. Kusum Devi @ Kusum Gupta Opposite Party :- State of U.P. and Another Counsel for Applicant :- Saket Jaiswal Counsel for Opposite Party :- G.A. Hon'ble Krishan Pahal,J.

¶1List has been revised.

¶2Heard Sri Saket Jaiswal, learned counsel for the applicant and Sri R.P. Patel, learned A.G.A. for the State as well as perused the record.

¶3The present anticipatory bail application has been filed on behalf of the applicant in Case Crime No.471 of 2016, under Section 420 IPC at Police Station-Sumerpur, District Hamirpur with a prayer to enlarge her on anticipatory bail.

¶4As per prosecution story, the aunt of the informant had expired on 29.3.2012 and had executed a Will deed in favour of the informant for her property. The applicant and her nephew Kuldeep Kumar Gupta are stated to have sold the said property without title to Smt. Sushila Gupta and Saroj Gupta through a registered sale deed on 09.08.2016.

¶5Learned counsel for the applicant has stated that the applicant is a lady and has been falsely implicated in the present case. She has nothing to do with the said offence. Learned counsel has further stated that there is a civil suit pending between the parties although it was instituted subsequent to the present FIR. Several other submissions have been made on behalf of the applicant to demonstrate the falsity of the allegations made against her. The circumstances which, as per counsel, led to the false implication of the applicant have also been touched upon at length. There are no criminal antecedents of the applicant. The applicant has apprehension of her arrest. Learned counsel for the applicant undertakes that she has co-operated in the investigation and is ready to do so in trial also failing which the State can move appropriate application for cancellation of anticipatory bail.

¶6Per contra, learned A.G.A. has vehemently opposed the anticipatory bail application but unable to dispute the submissions raised by the learned counsel for the applicant.

¶7On due consideration to the arguments advanced by learned counsel for the applicant as well as learned A.G.A. and considering the nature of accusations and antecedents of the applicant, the applicant is liable to be enlarged on anticipatory bail in view of the judgment of Supreme Court in the case of "Sushila Aggarwal Vs. State (NCT of Delhi), (2020) 5 SCC 1". The future contingencies regarding the anticipatory bail being granted to applicant shall also be taken care of as per the aforesaid judgment of the Apex Court.

¶8In view of the above, the anticipatory bail application of the applicant is allowed. Let the accused-applicant-Smt. Kusum Devi @ Kusum Gupta be released forthwith in the aforesaid case crime (supra) on anticipatory bail till the conclusion of trial on furnishing a personal bond and two sureties each in the like amount to the satisfaction of the court concerned with the following conditions:-

(i). that the applicant shall make herself available for interrogation by a police officer as and when required;

(ii). that 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 her from disclosing such facts to the court or to any police officer or tamper with the evidence;

(iii). that the applicant shall not leave India without the previous permission of the court;

(iv). that in case charge-sheet is submitted the applicant shall not tamper with the evidence during the trial;

(v). that the applicant shall not pressurize/ intimidate the prosecution witness;

(vi). that the applicant shall appear before the trial court on each date fixed unless personal presence is exempted;

(vii). that in case of breach of any of the above conditions the court concerned shall have the liberty to cancel the bail.

¶9It is made clear that observations made hereinabove are exclusively for deciding the instant anticipatory bail application and shall not affect the trial. Order Date :- 19.10.2023 Ravi Kant (Krishan Pahal, J.) High Court of Judicature at Allahabad