The Allahabad High Court has granted bail to Tejveer Singh alias Guddu in a gangster case. A single-judge bench of Justice Ajay Bhanot passed this order while hearing a Criminal Misc Bail Application filed by Tejveer Singh @ Guddu.
An FIR was lodged as case at Police Station Civil Lines, District Aligarh under Section 2/3 of the Uttar Pradesh Gangsters and Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act, 1986. The bail application of the applicant was rejected by the Special Judge (Gangster Act)/ Additional Sessions Judge, Court Aligarh on March 25, 2021.
The applicant has been in jail since February 2, 2021, pursuant to the said FIR. Vinod Prasad Srivastava, Senior Counsel for the applicant, submitted that the applicant has been falsely implicated in the case. The applicant has been enlarged on bail in a solitary case depicted in the gang chart. He is not a member of any criminal gang.
Srivastava explained the criminal history of the applicant and further submitted that the accused has been acquitted in a large number of cases while in other cases, he has been discharged. The applicant has been out on bail in some other cases which arose out of a civil dispute.
Senior Counsel said that the applicant was repeatedly nominated under the Gangster Act.
According to Srivastava, the applicant has become a soft target and a convenient scapegoat for police authorities who repeatedly name him in various cases only to burnish their professional credentials.
Lastly it is contended by the counsel for applicant that the applicant shall not abscond and will fully cooperate in the criminal law proceedings. The applicant shall not tamper with the evidence nor influence the witnesses in any manner.
Additional Government Advocate could not satisfactorily dispute the aforesaid submissions from the record. However, he does not contest the criminal history of the applicant as disclosed in the bail application.
The Court has taken note of the overcrowding of jails during the current pandemic situation (Ref: Suo Motu Writ Petition (c) No. 1/2020, Contagion of COVID 19 Virus in prisons before the Supreme Court of India). These circumstances shall also be factored in while considering bail applications on behalf of accused persons.
“I see merit in the submissions of the counsel for the applicant and hold that the applicant is entitled to be enlarged on bail. In the light of the preceding discussion and without making any observations on the merits of the case, the bail application is allowed,” the court observed.
The Court ordered that,
Let the applicant-Tejveer Singh @ Guddu involved in Case Crime No.61 of 2021 at Police Station Civil Lines, District-Aligarh under Section 2/3 of the Uttar Pradesh Gangsters and Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act, 1986, be released on bail on furnishing a personal bond and two sureties each in the like amount to the satisfaction of the court concerned subject to following conditions.
1. The applicant will not tamper with the evidence during the trial.
2. The applicant will not influence any witness.
3. The applicant will appear before the trial court on the date fixed, unless personal presence is exempted.
4. 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 him from disclosing such facts to the Court to any police officer or tamper with the evidence. In case of breach of any of the above conditions, the prosecution shall be at liberty to move bail cancellation application before this Court.