HC: Mere fact that a person has been charged under Section 307 cannot be a factum to keep the petitioner in incarceration

 

On 27^th September, a bench of Delhi High Court consisting of Justice Subramonium Prasad while hearing a bail petition held that no doubt the petitioner was charged with an offence under Section 307 IPC and if convicted, the petitioner might be sentenced for life, but that alone cannot be a factum to keep the petitioner in incarceration. The court was of the opinion that where charge sheet will be filed shortly and all the evidences have been collected, no useful purpose would be served in keeping the petitioner in custody.

Facts of the case:

The present petition was filed under Section 439 Cr.P.C  for grant of bail to the petitioner in FIR No.325/2021 dated 22.06.2021, registered at Police Station Hari Nagar for offences under Sections 186/353/307 IPC. The instant FIR was registered on the statement of Head Constable Vinod, No.3443/T, who stated that on 22.06.2021, ASI Vishram Singh and Constable Anup were stopping the vehicles and the complainant, who was standing about 10-15 yards away from them, was giving signal to the suspected vehicles to stop. It is stated that the driver initially slowed down the car but suddenly sped away, as a result, the car hit ASI Vishram and he fell on the side of the road. The complainant tried to stop the car from front and he jumped on the bonnet of the car but the petitioner did not stop the car. The complainant hit his elbow on the windshield of the car and the windshield cracked. The petitioner sped away towards Lajwanti Flyover and fled

Contention of the petitioner:

Mr. N. Hariharan, learned Senior Counsel appearing for the petitioner, submitted The following contention has been submitted by the petitioner:

Read also : HC: The wide jurisdiction of the writ court to act upon equitable considerations is one which must be exercised judiciously [Read Judgment]

1. It was submitted that the investigation is more or less over. He further states that the charge-sheet will be filed on or before 10.10.2021.
2. It was also submitted that the statements of most of the witnesses have already been recorded and since the injured is a Police Constable and other eye-witnesses are also police men, therefore, there is no possibility of the petitioner influencing the witnesses or tampering with the evidence.

Contention of the respondent:

Ms. Meenakshi Chauhan, learned APP for the State, vehemently opposes the bail application on the following ground:

1. It was submitted that the petitioner hit a Police man and when the other Police man tried to stop the vehicle and jumped on the bonnet of the car, the petitioner chose not to stop the vehicle and instead increased the speed of the car and the car was stopped only when another car came from the opposite side.
2. She also stated that the petitioner had to take several turns before stopping the car therefore she argued that the petitioner should not be granted bail looking at the gravity of the offence.

Observation and Judgment of Court:

The following observation has been made by the Hon’ble bench of the court:

1. The site map shows that the petitioner was not driving on the straight road but took at least four turns before stopping the vehicle. Be that as it may, the investigation is more or less complete.
2. A man is innocent until he is found guilty and bail is rule while jail is an exception.
3. The petitioner is an engineering graduate having roots in the society. Most of the witnesses are police witnesses and the petitioner would not be able to influence them.

In view of the above, the Court was of the opinion that no useful purpose would be served in keeping the petitioner in custody. Accordingly, this Court was inclined to grant bail to the Petitioner.

Read Judgment ;

 

source ; .latestlaws.com

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