Bail is the rule and jail is the exception; personal liberty under Article 21 must be upheld unless substantial grounds exist to deny bail.

ORDER : 

1. Rule. Ld. APP waives Rule for the respondent-State.

2. The present successive bail 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. 11204046240712 of 2024 registered with Nadiad Town Police Station, Kheda, for the offence under Sections 318(4) and 54 of BNS.

3. Learned advocate appearing on behalf of the applicant submits that applicant is innocent and has been falsely implicated in the offence. Investigation is over and chargesheet has been filed. The applicant is arrested on 16.09.2024. The offence is triable by JMFC and therefore, he prays that 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 submitted that, the applicant is having similar nature of past antecedents. Presence of the applicant is recorded in CCTV footage and he is identified by the victim. Further, the applicant belongs to Uttar Pradesh and if he is released on bail, possibility cannot be ruled out to jump the trial. He has also submitted that, other co-accused are yet to be arrested and therefore, this is not a case for bail. Considering the same, he prays not to allow application.

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) Chargesheet has been filed ;

(2) Applicant is behind the bar since 16.09.2024;

(3) There is nothing to be recovered or discovered from the applicant;

(4) There is no possibility to conclude the trial in near future.

(5) Offence is triable by JMFC Court.

(6) Merely having past antecedents is not a ground to refuse bail, especially considering that the accused is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

(7) Co-accused are yet to be arrested is not a ground to refuse the bail.

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 exception” as well as the concept of personal liberty guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India, present application deserves consideration.

8. In the facts and circumstances of the case and considering the nature of the allegations made against the applicant in the FIR, without discussing further on merit, prima facie, this Court is of the opinion that this is a fit case to exercise the discretion and enlarge the applicant on regular bail. Hence, the present application is allowed. The