The Allahabad High Court has granted conditional bail to Sonu, accused in the famous murder case of Saharanpur, who killed his grandfather.
A Single Bench of Justice Ajay Bhanot passed this order while hearing a Criminal Misc Bail Application filed by Sonu.
By means of the bail application the applicant has prayed to be enlarged on bail in Case at Police Station-Nakur, District-Saharanpur under Section 302 IPC. The applicant has been in jail since 19.09.2022.
The bail application of the applicant was rejected by the trial court on 23.11.2022.
The following arguments made by Sumit Goyal, counsel on behalf of the applicant, which could not be satisfactorily refuted by Paritosh Kumar Malviya, AGA-I from the record, entitle the applicant for grant of bail:-
(1) There is no direct evidence against the applicant.
(2) This is a case of circumstantial evidence and the chain of incriminating circumstances against the applicant is not complete.
(3) The applicant is the grandson of the deceased who was falsely nominated only to deny his claim over the ancestral property.
(4) The body was not recovered in the house of the applicant but from that of the first informant-Paras.
(5) The first informant has repudiated the prosecution case before the learned trial court and has denied lodging of the F.I.R. He has been declared hostile at the first instance.
(6) The applicant is a law abiding citizen who cooperated in the investigation and has joined the trial proceedings.
(7) The trial is moving at a snail’s pace and shows no signs of an early conclusion.
(8) The applicant is not responsible for the delay in the trial proceedings.
(9) Inordinate delay in concluding trial has led to an indefinite detention of the applicant without any evidence to implicate him in the offence. Right of the applicant to a speedy trial has been violated.
(10) The applicant does not have any criminal history apart from this case.
“The 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”, the Court observed while allowing the bail application.
The Court ordered that,
Let the applicant-Sonu 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.