Pankaj Kumar v. State of U.P. Thru. Prin. Secy. Home

Court No. - 16 Case :- CRIMINAL MISC. BAIL APPLICATION No. - 6913 of 2022 Applicant :- Pankaj Kumar Opposite Party :- State Of U.P. Thru. Prin. Secy. Home Counsel for Applicant :- Rakesh Singh Parihar,Aditya Kumar,Ajai Kishore Singh,Amol Kumar Srivastava Counsel for Opposite Party :- G.A. Hon'ble Subhash Vidyarthi,J.

¶1Heard Sri Amol Kumar, the learned counsel for the applicant, Sri Gyanendra Singh, the learned AGA for the State and perused the records.

¶2The instant application has been filed seeking release of the applicants on bail in Case Crime No. 7 of 2021, under Sections 419, 420, 120-B IPC & 66C I.T. Act, Police Station Cyber Crime, District Lucknow.

¶3The aforesaid case has been registered on the basis of an FIR registered on

06.02.2021 alleging a fraudulent withdrawal made form the informant's bank account on 20.01.2021 after the informant received a call from a mobile number. The police claimed to have arrested five persons on the basis of information received from a mukhbir. Some other persons were arrested in connection with similar offences in Deogarh, Jharkhand and on the basis of their statements, the applicant was also implicated in the present case.

¶4In the affidavit filed in support of the bail application, it has been stated that prior to his arrest, the applicant was not involved in any criminal case but after his arrest, he has been implicated in nine cases, in five of which he has already been granted bail. Details of those nine cases have been mentioned in the affidavit filed in support of the application.

¶5The State has filed a counter affidavit opposing the bail application and it has been stated that the mobile number, from which a phone call was received by the informant, was used in commission of another crime. The bank account, in which the amount in question of that other crime was transferred, had mentioned a mobile number of the account holder, which number has been issued in the name of the applicant. A mobile phone is said to have been recovered from the applicant by the police of Police Station Deogarh, Jharkhand but that mobile number is not the number mentioned by the informant in the FIR.

¶6It has further been stated in the counter affidavit that mobile no. 8709836953 has been issued in the name of the applicant but the learned counsel for the applicant has submitted that this number is also not mentioned in the FIR.

¶7It has also been stated in the counter affidavit that the applicant has been seen in a CCTV footage standing with another accused person, who was making withdrawal from a bank account used in commission of similar offences from other persons, through an ATM.

¶8Although a charge sheet in the present case was filed on 15.03.2022, the learned counsel for the applicant has stated that till date even the charges have not been framed in the present case.

¶9The learned counsel for the applicant has submitted that the applicant has been granted bail in a case of similar nature.

¶10Having considered the aforesaid facts and circumstances of the case and keeping in view the fact that the incident in question occurred on 20.01.2021 whereas the FIR has been lodged on 06.02.2021 and there is no explanation for the delay in lodging an FIR; that prima facie there appears to be no direct evidence in the commission of the offence in question and that the applicant is languishing in jail since 21.01.2022 and trial is not yet commenced although a charge sheet was filed way back on 15.03.2022, I am of the view that the applicant is entitled to be released on bail in the aforesaid crime. 11 Accordingly, this bail application stands allowed.

¶12Let the applicant-Pankaj Kumar be released on bail in Case Crime No. 7 of 2021, under Sections 419, 420, 120-B IPC & 66C I.T. Act, Police Station Cyber Crime, District Lucknow on furnishing a personal bond and two sureties each in the like amount to the satisfaction of magistrate/court concerned, subject to following conditions:-

(i) the applicant shall not tamper with the prosecution evidence;

(ii) the applicant shall not pressurize the prosecution witnesses;

(iii) the applicant shall appear on each and every date fixed by the trial court. Order Date :- 26.10.2023 Pradeep/- High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, Lucknow Bench