Bail is the rule and jail is the exception, emphasizing personal liberty under Article 21, especially when the accused has no prior record and the trial may take time.

ORDER :

1.  RULE. Learned APP waives service of rule for the respondent-State.

2. The present application is filed under Section 483 of the  Bharatiya Nyaya Suraksha Sanhita, 2023  (for short “BNSS”) for regular bail in connection with FIR being C.R. No.11206075240 of 2024 dated 01.10.2024 registered with Visnagar City Police Station, Mahesana for the offences punishable under Sections  316(5), 319(2), 318(4), 61(2), 2(7) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (for short “ BNS ”) and under Sections 66 (D) of the Information Technology Act.

3. Learned advocate appearing on behalf of the applicant  submits that applicant is innocent and has been falsely implicated in  the offence and now nothing is required to be recovered or  discovered as the charge-sheet is already filed. The present   applicant is a caretaker of the house of the accused person Thakor  Sendhaji. The allegations agains the present applicant is that of  luring people through phone call to make investment into the share  market. The role attributed to the applicant is that of a messenger  to receive the money from angadiya and handover to the other  accused persons. It is submitted that the present applicant has not  received any monetary benefits to his bank account. He therefore  submits that, considering the nature of the offence, the applicant  may be enlarged on regular bail by imposing suitable conditions. 

4. Learned APP appearing on behalf of the respondent-State  has opposed the present application and requested to dismiss the  present application for regular bail looking to the nature and  gravity of the offence.

5. While granting bail, the Court has to consider the involvement  of the accused in the alleged offence, the jurisdiction to grant bail  has to be exercised on the basis of the well settled principles having  regard to the facts and circumstances of each case and the  following factors are to be taken into consideration while  considering an application for bail: (i) the nature of accusation and  the severity of the punishment and the nature of the materials  relied upon by the prosecution; (ii) reasonable apprehension of  tampering with the witnesses and threat to the complainant or the  witnesses; (iii) reasonable possibility of securing the presence of  the accused at the time of trial or the likelihood of his abscondence;  (iv) character behaviour and standing of the accused and the  circumstances which are peculiar to the accused; (v) larger interest  of the public or the State and similar other considerations are  required to be considered.

6. I have heard the learned advocates appearing on behalf of the respective parties and perused the investigation papers. Following aspects have been considered:

(1) Investigation is over and charge-sheet is filed;

(2) None of the offence alleged is punishable with life sentence  or death penalty;

(3) Applicant is behind the bars since 01.10.2024;

(4) The role attributed to the present applicant is that of a  messenger and has received the money from angadiya and  handed over the money to one Rajkumar and Sendhaji  Jesangji. The present applicant has not received any money  trail in his account. Nothing has been recovered or  discovered from the present applicant;

(5) The applicant is not having any past antecedent;

(6) Obviously commencement and conclusion of trial will take  some time.

(7) The co-accused persons are yet to be arrested is not a  ground;

7. This Court has also taken into consideration the law laid down by the Hon'ble Apex Court in the case of Sanjay Chandra vs. Central Bureau of Investigation reported in [2012] 1 SCC 40 as well as in the case of Gudikanti Narasimhulu And Ors vs. Public Prosecutor, High Court of Andhra Pradesh reported in (1978) 1 SCC 240. Obviously, the conclusion of trial will take time and keeping the accused behind the bars is nothing but amounts to pre-trial conviction and therefore, considering the celebrated principle of bail jurisprudence is that “bail is a rule and jail is e