High Court
Case Details
Neutral Citation No. - 2025:AHC:25010 Court No. - 65 Case :- CRIMINAL MISC. BAIL APPLICATION No. - 41202 of 2024 Applicant :- Ashok Pathak Opposite Party :- State Of U.P. And 3 Others Counsel for Applicant :- Abhinav Gaur,Amit Kumar Mishra,Ankit Shukla,Mohd. Rashid Siddiqui,Sr. Advocate Counsel for Opposite Party :- G.A.,Subhash Chandra Tiwari Hon'ble Krishan Pahal,J. 1. List has been revised.
Legal Reasoning
2. Heard Sri Anoop Trivedi, learned Senior Counsel assisted by Sri Nagendra Kumar Mishra and Sri Ankit Shukla, learned counsels for the applicant and Sri Mool Chandra Mishra, holding brief of Sri Subhash Chandra Tiwari, learned counsel for the informant as well as Sri V.K.S. Parmar, learned A.G.A. for the State and perused the record. 3. Applicant seeks bail in Case Crime No. 293 of 2024, under Sections 376, 504, 506 I.P.C. and Section 3/4 of the POCSO Act, Police Station Sujanganj, District Jaunpur, during the pendency of trial. PROSECUTION STORY: 4. The applicant is stated to have committed rape with the victim aged about 13 years on 25.06.2024 between 8:00 - 9:00 in the morning. ARGUMENTS ON BEHALF OF APPLICANT : 5. The applicant has been falsely implicated in the present case and he has nothing to do with the said offence. 6. The FIR is delayed by about one and half months and there is no explanation of the said delay caused. 7. The age of the victim is stated to be about 13 years but it is a clear cut case of false implication as it is stated that she has sustained no injury on her vital organ, as is but evident from the medical report filed as Annexure-5 to the affidavit filed with the bail application. 8. Important factor which is essential to be highlighted herein is the application filed by the informant regarding the same incident whereby he has not allayed any allegation of rape against the applicant in the application filed on 25.06.2024 itself and the matter was settled between the parties. 9. The said application has been filed as Annexure-9 and the said settlement has been filed as Annexure-8 appended to the affidavit filed with the bail application. 10. Several other submissions have been made on behalf of the applicant to demonstrate the falsity of the allegations made against him. The circumstances which, as per counsel, led to the false implication of the applicant have also been touched upon at length. 11. The criminal history of one case assigned to the applicant has been explained. The applicant is languishing in jail since 03.09.2024. The applicant is ready to cooperate with trial. In case, the applicant is released on bail, he will not misuse the liberty of bail. ARGUMENTS ON BEHALF OF INFORMANT : 12. The bail application has been opposed on the ground that the victim was minor and as per her document, she was only 11 years old, as such the applicant is not entitled for bail. CONCLUSION: 13. In light of the judgement of the Supreme Court passed in Niranjan Singh and another vs Prabhakar Rajaram Kharote and others AIR 1980 SC 785, this Court has avoided detailed examination of the evidence and elaborate documentation of the merits of the case as no party should have the impression that his case has been prejudiced. A prima facie satisfaction of case is needed but it is not the same as an exhaustive exploration of the merits in the order itself. 14. The well-known principle of "Presumption of Innocence Unless Proven Guilty," gives rise to the concept of bail as a rule and imprisonment as an exception. 15. A person's right to life and liberty, guaranteed by Article 21 of the Indian Constitution, cannot be taken away simply because the person is accused of committing an offence until the guilt is established beyond a reasonable doubt. Article 21 of the Indian Constitution states that no one's life or personal liberty may be taken away unless the procedure established by law is followed, and the procedure must be just and reasonable. The said principle has been recapitulated by the Supreme Court in Satender Kumar Antil Vs. Central Bureau of Investigation and Ors., 2022 INSC 690. 16. Reiterating the aforesaid view the Supreme Court in the case of Manish Sisodia Vs. Directorate of Enforcement 2024 INSC 595 has again emphasised that the very well-settled principle of law that bail is not to be withheld as a punishment is not to be forgotten. It is high time that the Courts should recognize the principle that "bail is a rule and jail is an exception". 17. Learned AGA could not bring forth any exceptional circumstances which would warrant denial of bail to the applicant. 18. It is settled principle of law that the object of bail is to secure the attendance of the accused at the trial. No material particulars or circumstances suggestive of the applicant fleeing from justice or thwarting the course of justice or creating other troubles in the shape of repeating offences or intimidating witnesses and the like have been shown by learned AGA. 19. Considering the facts and circumstances of the case, submissions made by learned counsel for the parties, the evidence on record, and taking into consideration that there is no injury sustained by the victim coupled by the fact that the FIR is delayed by one and half months and without expressing any opinion on the merits of the case, the Court is of the view that the applicant has made out a case for bail. The bail application is allowed. 20. Let the applicant- Ashok Pathak involved in aforementioned case crime number 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. (i) The applicant shall not tamper with evidence. (ii) The applicant shall remain present, in person, before the Trial Court on dates fixed for (1) opening of the case, (2) framing of charge and (3) recording of statement under Section 313 Cr.P.C./351 B.N.S.S. If in the opinion of the Trial Court absence of the applicant is deliberate or without sufficient cause, then it shall be open for the Trial Court to treat such default as abuse of liberty of bail and proceed against him in accordance with law. 21. In case of breach of any of the above conditions, it shall be a ground for cancellation of bail. Identity, status and residence proof of the applicant and sureties be verified by the court concerned before the bonds are accepted. 22. It is made clear that observations made in granting bail to the applicant shall not in any way affect the learned trial Judge in forming his independent opinion based on the testimony of the witnesses. Order Date :- 20.2.2025 Sumit S (Justice Krishan Pahal) Digitally signed by :- SUMIT SRIVASTAVA High Court of Judicature at Allahabad