IMPORTANT POINT
At the stage of granting bail a detailed examination of evidence and elaborate documentation of merits of the case has not to be undertaken.

JUDGMENT

Dr. Arijit Pasayat, J. —

1. Leave granted.

2. Challenge in this appeal is to the order passed by learned Single Judge of the Allahabad High Court, Lucknow Bench granting bail to the respondent No.2 who is an accused in Case Crime No.178 of 2006, Police Station-Ashiyana, District Lucknow. The accused persons faced trial for alleged commission of offences punishable under Sections 302 and 120 B of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (in short the ‘IPC’).

3. As per the prosecution version Virendra Singh lodged information at the police station that on 21.9.2006 at about 10 A.M. when his younger brother Chandra Pal Singh (hereinafter referred to as the ‘deceased’), Manager of Lucknow Public School had arrived on the gate of the college, some unknown persons had shot him by making indiscriminating firing and then he was taken to the hospital. The doctors declared that he had been brought dead. During investigation it was found that the respondent No.2 and another person named S.B. Singh had entered into criminal conspiracy to commit murder of the deceased and said S.B. Singh had arranged two shooters Ranvir Singh and Anant Kumar Verma who caused the death of the deceased. In order to show the complicity of respondent No.2 reference was made to the statement of one Munna Katiyar who claimed to have overheard the conversations of respondent No.2 and S.B. Singh before the incident relating to the plan to murder of the deceased. This was disclosed to the investigating officer on 9.12.2006. The police acted upon the information and transpired that the amount fixed for doing the killing (in common parlance known as ‘supari amount’) was Rs.10 lakhs and a sum of Rs.5,87,000/- was paid to S.B. Singh through demand draft under a camouflage as if the payment was being made towards consideration of purchase of construction materials as S. B. Singh happens to be the proprietor of the concern dealing with the sale and purchase of construction materials. It was pointed out by the prosecution that the phone records clearly indicated a link between the respondent No.2 and the killers. It was also pointed out that the document which was produced to show that the payment was made for purchase of construction materials was fake. Prayer for bail was rejected by order dated 7.2.2007 by learned Sessions Judge, (in charge) Lucknow. An application was filed before the High Court. By the impugned order High Court granted bail to the respondent No.2.

4. Learned counsel for the appellant submitted that the High Court had practically written a judgment of acquittal by not only referring to the incriminating materials but also conclude about their unreliability. This, it is submitted, is not the correct way of dealing with an application for bail.

5. Learned counsel for the respondent- State supported the stand of the appellant.

6. Learned counsel for the respondent No. 2 on the other hand submitted that the conclusions of the trial court to deny bail were factually wrong and legally unsustainable. The High Court has dealt with the stands of the accused respondent No.2 and found that the prosecution version is totally vulnerable and had no legs to stand. That being so it is submitted the order does not suffer from any infirmity.

7. The conclusions of the High Court read as follows :

“Having heard learned counsel for the respective parties as also the Additional Government Advocate, it is amply evident that F.I.R. with respect to the present incident was lodged against unknown persons on 21.09.2006 and in the statements recorded during the course of investigation, i.e. statement of the son of the deceased recorded on 05.12.2006 and statement Munna Katiyar recorded on 09.12.2006 it was disclosed that the applicant had conspired and abated with respect to the commission of the instant crime by hiring assassins named above. It is much surprising that if the son of the deceased and aforesaid Munna Katiyar were knowing that the applicant and deceased Chandra Pal Si