2024 Supreme(SC) 600

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
J.B. PARDIWALA, UJJAL BHUYAN, JJ.
Sheikh Javed Iqbal @ Ashfaq Ansari @ Javed Ansari - Appellants
Versus
State Of Uttar Pradesh – Respondent
Criminal Appeal No. 2790 of 2024
Decided on : 18-07-2024

IMPORTANT POINTS
(1) Bail – When trial gets prolonged, it is not open to prosecution to oppose bail of accused-undertrial on the ground that charges are very serious – Bail cannot be denied only on the ground that charges are very serious though there is no end in sight for trial to conclude.
(2) Constitutional court cannot be restrained from granting bail to accused on account of restrictive statutory provisions in a penal statute if it finds that right of accused-undertrial under Article 21 of Constitution of India has been infringed.
(3) Section 43D(5) of UAP Act does not oust ability of Constitutional courts to grant bail on grounds of violation of Part III of Constitution.

Headnote:

(A) Criminal Procedure Code,1973 – Section 439 – [Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 – Section 483] – Constitution of India – Article 21 – Indian Penal Code, 1860 – Sections 489B and 489C – [Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 – Sections 179 and 180] – Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 – Sections 16 and 45D – Bail application – Recovery of fake Indian currency notes and Nepalese driving licence and Nepalese citizenship certificate – Appellant is in custody for more than nine years now – Only two witnesses have been examined – Trial would not be concluded in near future – Accused is entitled to a speedy trial – Accused or an undertrial has fundamental right to speedy trial which is traceable to Article 21 of Constitution of India – If alleged offence is a serious one, it is all the more necessary for prosecution to ensure that trial is concluded expeditiously – When trial gets prolonged, it is not open to prosecution to oppose bail of accused-undertrial on the ground that charges are very serious – Bail cannot be denied only on the ground that charges are very serious though there is no end in sight for trial to conclude. (Paras 19 and 21)

(B) Constitution of India – Article 21 – Criminal Procedure Code,1973 – Section 439 – [Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 – Section 483] – Right to life and personal liberty – Right to life and personal liberty enshrined under Article 21 of Constitution of India is overarching and sacrosanct – Constitutional court cannot be restrained from granting bail to accused on account of restrictive statutory provisions in a penal statute if it finds that right of accused-undertrial under Article 21 of Constitution of India has been infringed – In that event, such statutory restrictions would not come in the way – Even in case of interpretation of a penal statute, howsoever stringent it may be, Constitutional court has to lean in favour of constitutionalism and rule of law of which liberty is an intrinsic part – In given facts of a particular case, Constitutional court may decline to grant bail – But it would be very wrong to say that under a particular statute, bail cannot be granted – It would run counter to very grain of our constitutional jurisprudence. (Para 32)

(C) Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 – Sections 16 and 45D – Criminal Procedure Code,1973 – Section 439 – [Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 – Section 483] – Constitution of India – Article 21 – Indian Penal Code, 1860 – Sections 489B and 489C – [Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 – Sections 179 and 180] – Bail application – Recovery of fake Indian currency notes and Nepalese driving licence and Nepalese citizenship certificate – Long incarceration with unlikelihood of trial being completed in the near future is a good ground to grant bail – Section 43D(5) of UAP Act does not oust ability of Constitutional courts to grant bail on grounds of violation of Part III of Constitution – While imposing bail conditions, constitutional rights of accused who is ordered to be released on bail can be curtailed only to minimum extent required – Continued incarceration of appellant cannot be justified – Bail granted to appellant. (Paras 29, 30, 32, 33 and 34)

Facts of the case:

Vide impugned Order, High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, Lucknow Bench has rejected bail application of the petitioner filed under Section 439 of Code of Criminal Procedure, in a case registered under Sections 489B and 489C of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 and under Section 16 of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.

Findings of Court:

If there is any violation of bail conditions , it would be open to the prosecution to move trial court for cancellation of bail.

Result : Criminal Appeal disposed of. Bail granted.