IMPORTANT POINTS
(1) Bail – Object of bail is to secure attendance of accused at trial – Over-arching postulate of criminal jurisprudence that accused is presumed to be innocent until proven guilty cannot be brushed aside lightly, howsoever stringent penal law may be.
(2) Right to speedy trial – Criminals are not born out but made – Human potential in everyone is good and any criminal is not beyond redemption.

ORDER :

1. Leave granted.

2. This appeal arises from the order passed by the High Court of Judicature at Bombay dated 5th February 2024 in Criminal Appeal No 1060 of 2023 by which the High Court declined to release the appellant on bail in connection with his prosecution under the provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act 1967 (for short ‘UAPA’).

3. When this matter was taken up for hearing, both, the counsel appearing for the National Investigation Agency (NIA) as well as the counsel appearing for the State prayed for time. Having regard to the fact that the appellant is in custody past four years, we declined to adjourn the matter and proceeded to hear the same on merits.

4. It appears from the materials on record that on 9th February 2020 at about 9.30 am, on the basis of some secret information, the appellant herein was apprehended by Mumbai Police of the DCB CID Unit VIII from a bus stop at Terminal II Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, Andheri. The search of the person of the appellant was undertaken. The appellant had a bag with him and from the bag 1193 numbers of counterfeit Indian currency notes of the denomination of Rs 2,000 were recovered. The counterfeit notes were seized and the appellant herein was arrested. The First Information Report was registered at the Sahar Police Station for the offences punishable under Sections 489B, 489C, 120B read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code.

5. It is the case of the prosecution that the consignment of the counterfeit notes was smuggled from Pakistan to Mumbai. Having regard to the nature of the crime as alleged, the investigation was ultimately taken over by the NIA. As a result, Case No RC/03/20/NIA/Mumbai came to be registered for the offences enumerated above. The investigation further revealed that on 6th February 2020, the appellant visited Dubai, and while he was in Dubai, he is said to have received the counterfeit notes from one of the absconding accused persons. On 9th February 2020, he is said to have returned to India.

6. The materials on record further reveal that two co-accused were arrested in connection with this offence and both are on bail as on today. So far as one of the co-accused is concerned, the order granting bail to him is now the subject matter of challenge before this Court.

7. Having heard the learned counsel appearing for the parties and having gone through the materials on record, we are inclined to exercise our discretion in favour of the appellant herein keeping in mind the following aspects:

(i) The appellant is in jail as an under-trial prisoner past four years;

(ii) Till this date, the trial court has not been able to even proceed to frame charge; and

(iii) As pointed out by the counsel appearing for the State as well as NIA, the prosecution intends to examine not less than eighty witnesses.

8. Having regard to the aforesaid, we wonder by what period of time, the trial will ultimately conclude. Howsoever serious a crime may be, an accused has a right to speedy trial as enshrined under the Constitution of India.

9. Over a period of time, the trial courts and the High Courts have forgotten a very well settled principle of law that bail is not to be withheld as a punishment.

10. In the aforesaid context, we may remind the trial courts and the High Courts of what came to be observed by this Court in Gudikanti Narasimhulu & Ors. v. Public Prosecutor, High Court reported in (1978) 1 SCC 240. We quote:

“What is often forgotten, and therefore warrants reminder, is the object to keep a person in judicial custody pending trial or disposal of an appeal. Lord Russel, C.J., said [R v. Rose, (1898) 18 Cox] :

"I observe that in this case bail was refused for the prisoner. It cannot be too strongly impressed on the, magistracy of the country that bail is not to be withheld as a punishment, but that the requirements as to bail are merely to secure the attendance of the prisoner at trial."

11. The same principle has been reiterated by th