Sh. Lakha Singh v. State of Uttarakhand

Mr. Harshpal Sekhon, learned counsel for t he com plainant . Hon’ble Ashish Naithani, J (Oral) The present bail applicat ion has been filed on behalf of t he applicant , Lakha Singh, aged 19 years, son of Puran Singh, resident of Raj a Colony, Ward No. 02, Transit Cam p, Rudrapur, Dist rict Haridwar.

2. The applicant is current ly in j udicial cust ody in connect ion wit h FI R No. 77 of 2024, regist ered at Police St at ion Transit Cam p, Dist rict Udham Singh Nagar, for offences punishable under Sect ions 307, 504, 506, and 34 of t he I ndian Penal Code, along wit h Sect ions 4/ 25 of t he Arm s Act .

3. As per t he prosecut ion, t he applicant , along wit h t hree ot her nam ed individuals, allegedly surrounded t he com plainant ’s younger brot her, Raj at Gupt a, due t o prior enm it y and at t acked him wit h a knife, causing severe inj uries t o his windpipe and st om ach. The inj ured was rescued by Kanhaiya Gupt a, Yash Gupt a, Kapil, and Manoj Gupt a, who im m ediat ely t ook him t o a local hospit al. Due t o t he severit y of his inj uries, he was lat er referred t o Ram Murt i Hospit al, Bareilly.

4. I t is t he cont ent ion of t he applicant t hat t he First I nform at ion Report was lodged aft er an unexplained 2 delay of over 24 hours. Furt herm ore, t here is a discrepancy regarding t he place of occurrence. According t o t he FI R, t he incident occurred near Hardev Medical St ore, approxim at ely 1.5 km from t he Transit Cam p Police St at ion. However, t he com plainant , Rohit Gupt a, has st at ed t hat t he incident t ook place near Shankar Misht han Shop.

5. I t is t he cont ent ion of t he applicant t hat t he com plainant was not an eyewit ness t o t he incident . According t o his st at em ent s, he was inform ed about t he incident by his brot hers, Yash Gupt a and Kanhaiya Gupt a. Not ably, Kanhaiya Gupt a only saw t he assailant s fleeing from t he crim e scene and narrat ed t he sequence of event s.

6. Shaurya Gupt a @ Kanhaiya Gupt a, in his police st at em ent dat ed 26.03.2023, st at ed t hat while he was accom panying t he inj ured Raj at Gupt a around 9: 00 PM, t hey were approached by t he accused—Lakha Singh, Sarpanch, and Anm ol—on a m ot orcycle near Shankar Sweet s Shop. Sarpanch allegedly pulled out a sm all knife and st abbed Raj at 4- 5 t im es in t he st om ach and neck, causing him t o collapse. Thereaft er, Lakha Singh allegedly t ook t he knife from Sarpanch and st abbed Raj at again in t he st om ach.

7. I t is t he cont ent ion of t he applicant t hat t he recovery of t he weapon is st at ed t o have t aken place t wo m ont hs aft er t he incident , from an open ground, at t he inst ance of t he accused. The knife was report edly washed wit h wat er t o rem ove bloodst ains before being concealed under a st one. 3

8. The applicant also point ed out t hat t he st at em ent of t he inj ured was not recorded. However, t he court observes t hat , t he st at em ent of Dr. Harshit Agarwal, a m edical surgeon at Ram Murt i Hospit al, Bareilly was recorded. Dr. Agarwal confirm ed t hat Raj at Gupt a, aged 19 years, was brought t o t he hospit al in a crit ical condit ion wit h m ult iple knife wounds t o t he st om ach and neck. He furt her st at ed t hat Raj at was unable t o speak at t he t im e due t o t he severit y of his inj uries, which were life- t hreat ening, and t hat even aft er surgery, he would require prolonged m edical care.

9. Furt herm ore, t he prosecut ion subm it s t hat wit ness t est im onies have consist ent ly ident ified t he applicant as an act ive part icipant in t he crim e. The accused was seen fleeing t he crim e scene, and forensic evidence, once available, is expect ed t o furt her subst ant iat e t he charges.

10. The prosecut ion argues t hat t he applicant has a prior crim inal hist ory and poses a risk of t am pering wit h evidence and influencing wit nesses if released on bail. The gravit y of t he offence, coupled wit h t he pot ent ial t hreat t o public safet y, m akes him undeserving of bail.

11. Having heard t he learned counsel t he applicant and t he learned Governm ent Counsel for t he St at e, and upon considering t he fact s and circum st ances of t he case, t his Court finds t hat t he nat ure of t he assault on t he vict im , coupled wit h his serious condit ion as indicat ed in t he m edical report , highlight s t he gravit y of t he offence. Eyewit ness Shaurya Gupt a has corroborat ed t he com plainant ’s account , st at ing t hat t he applicant 4 seized t he knife from Sarpanch and proceeded t o st ab Raj at Gupt a once again. Addit ionally, t he vict im ’s m ot her, Sm t . Chanchal Gupt a, has reaffirm ed t his sequence of event s.

12. Given t he seriousness of t he allegat ions and t he available evidence, t here exist s a subst ant ial risk t hat t he applicant , if released on bail, m ay cause furt her harm t o t he vict im and could at t em pt t o influence wit nesses or t am per wit h evidence.

13. Considering t he overall fact s and circum st ances of t he case, t his Court is not inclined t o enlarge t he applicant on bail.

14. Accordingly, t he bail applicat ion is dism issed. (Ashish Naithani, J.) 21.02.2025 NR/