Judicial Analysis Court Copy Headnote Facts Arguments Court observation

2021 Supreme(Raj) 1723

RAJASTHAN HIGH COURT BENCH AT JAIPUR
Mahendar Kumar Goyal, J.
Mukat - Appellant
Versus
State of Rajasthan - Respondent
S.B. Criminal Appeal No. 1225/2021
Decided On : 03-09-2021

Advocates appeared:
Mr. N.A. Naqvi, Sr. Adv. With Mr. Mukesh Kumar Meena, Advocates, for the Appellant; Mr. Mangal Singh Saini, P.P, for the Respondent; Mr. Mukesh Kumar Verma, Advocate, for the Complainant

The court established that bail can be granted based on the absence of criminal history, the nature of the allegations, and the duration of custody, reinforcing the presumption of innocence.

Headnote:
BAIL - SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act - The court granted bail to the appellant, considering the nature of allegations, length of custody, absence of criminal antecedents, and the material in the charge sheet, while emphasizing the need for a fair trial without pre-judging the merits of the case.
Fact of the Case:

The appellant was involved in a criminal case under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and IPC for allegedly assisting in the death of Kalla @ Dhansingh. The incident was claimed to be spontaneous without premeditation, and the appellant had been in custody since April 2021.
Finding of the Court:

The court analyzed the submissions from both parties, focusing on the nature of the allegations, the appellant's length of custody, and the absence of prior criminal records. It found sufficient grounds to grant bail without commenting on the case's merits.
Issues: Whether the appellant should be granted bail considering the nature of the allegations and the circumstances of the case.
Ratio Decidendi: The court held that the absence of criminal antecedents, the length of custody, and the nature of the allegations warranted the granting of bail, emphasizing the principle of presumption of innocence until proven guilty.
Result: The appeal was allowed, the previous order denying bail was quashed, and the appellant was granted bail upon furnishing a personal bond and sureties.

JUDGMENT

The present criminal appeal under Section 14-A of the Scheduled Castes & the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act has been filed in connection with FIR No.208/2021 registered at Police Station Sadar, Hindaun, District Karauli for the offence under Section(s) 323 & 341 of IPC and Section(s) 3(1)(r), 3(1)(s) & 3(2)(va) of SC & ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 (for short 'the Act of 1989') and later on for the offence under Section(s) 323, 341 & 302/34 of IPC and under Section 3(2)(v) of the Act of 1989.

Learned counsels for the appellant contended that the incident occurred at spur of moment without any premeditation. Drawing attention of this Court towards the FIR and statements of the prosecution witnesses recorded under Section 161 Cr.P.C., learned counsels submitted that only injury on the person of deceased Kalla @ Dhansingh has been attributed to co-accused. They submitted that the appellant is in custody since 11.04.2021, charge sheet has been filed, trial of the case will take time, he has no criminal antecedents and prayed for his release on bail.

Opposing the bail application, learned Public Prosecutor assisted by the learned counsel for the complainant submitted that the appellant assisted the co-accused in causing death of Kalla @ Dhansingh and hence, he does not deserve indulgence of bail.

Taking into consideration the submissions advanced by learned counsels for the respective parties, the nature of allegation against the appellant, his length of custody, the material contained in the charge sheet especially the statements of the prosecution witnesses recorded under Section 161 Cr.P.C, postmortem report of the deceased Kalla @ Dhansingh and absence of criminal antecedents; but, without expressing any opinion on the merits of the case, this court deems it just and proper to enlarge the appellant on bail.

The order dated 27.07.2021 passed by the learned Special Judge, SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities Cases), Karauli (Rajasthan) is quashed and set-aside and this appeal is accordingly allowed. It is directed that accused appellant Mukat S/o Guman Gurjar shall be released on bail provided he furnishes a personal bond in the sum of Rs.1,00,000/- (Rupees One Lac Only) together with two sureties in the sum of Rs.50,000/- (Rupees Fifty Thousand Only) each to the satisfaction of the learned Trial Court with the stipulation that he shall appear before that Court and any Court to which the matter is transferred, on all subsequent dates of hearing and as and when called upon to do so.

Click Here to Read the rest of this document