Mohd. Imran v. State of U.P. and 3 Others

Court No. - 66 Case :- CRIMINAL MISC. BAIL APPLICATION No. - 1831 of 2023 Applicant :- Mohd. Imran Opposite Party :- State Of U.P. And 3 Others Counsel for Applicant :- Anurodh Tripathi Counsel for Opposite Party :- G.A. Hon'ble Ajay Bhanot,J. This is the second bail application. By means of the bail application the applicant has prayed to be enlarged on bail in Case Crime No. 02 of 2021 at Police Station-Vindhamganj, District-Sonbhadra under Sections 363, 366, 376(3) IPC and Section 3/4(2) of POCSO Act and Section 3(2)(V) of SC/ST Act. The applicant is in jail since 09.01.2021. The first bail application of the applicant was rejected by this Court on 16.09.2021. The following arguments made by Shri Anurodh Tripathi, learned counsel on behalf of the applicant, which could not be satisfactorily refuted by Shri Paritosh Kumar Malviya, learned AGA-I 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 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.

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

¶4As per the chargesheet, the prosecution proposes to examine 13 witnesses to bring home the charges. Till date only five prosecution witnesses have been examined.

¶5Inordinate 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.

¶6Various contradictions have been brought out in the statement of the victim and an attempt has been made to establish the consensual relationship between the parties. However, the Court does not propose to go into the appraisal of the evidence as it may prejudice the trial.

¶7The applicant does not have any criminal history apart from this case.

¶8The applicant is not a flight risk. The applicant being a law abiding citizen has always cooperated with the investigation and undertakes to join the trial 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-Mohd. Imran 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 :- 27.10.2023 Ankit. High Court of Judicature at Allahabad