The right to a speedy trial is fundamental, and indefinite incarceration without trial violates Article 21 of the Constitution.

ORDER :

FARJAND ALI, J.

1. The jurisdiction of this court has been invoked by way of filing the second bail application under Section 439 CrPC at the instance of accused-petitioner. The requisite details of the matter are tabulated herein below:

2. The first bail application of petitioner came to be dismissed by the Coordinate Bench Court vide order 01.05.2024 passed in S.B. Criminal Misc. Bail Application No.6558/2022.

3. It is contended on behalf of the accused-petitioner is behind the bars since 16.03.2021 and that no case for the alleged offences is made out against him and his incarceration is not warranted. There are several flaws and laches in the case of the prosecution. There are no factors at play in the case at hand that may work against grant of bail to the accused-petitioner and he has been made an accused based on conjectures and surmises.

4. Contrary to the submissions of learned counsel for the petitioner, learned Public Prosecutor opposes the bail application and submits that the present case is not fit for enlargement of accused on bail.

5. I have heard and considered the submissions made by both the parties and perused the material available on record.

6. It is emanating from the record that on 04.04.2021, Bhagirath had reported to the Pilibanga Police Station that yesterday evening his younger brother Jiyaram had been assaulted by a group of individuals, including Bablu @ Rajat, Prakash, Ravi, Kisiya @ Chandrabhan, Sunil, Surendra, and others. The assailants had barged into his house, they were armed with lathis and hockey sticks and had severely beaten Jiyaram, dragged him to Arjunram's house and then to a white car They had abandoned Jiyaram near ABC Bhatta and had fled from away the crime scene. Bhagirath had then admitted his brother to the Goluwala Hospital. Based on this report, a First Information Report (FIR) No. 28/2021 was registered at the Goluwala Police Station under Sections 302, 449, 364, 147, 148, and 149 of the Indian Penal Code. During course of investigation, the petitioner was arrested on 16.03.2021 and after investigation, a charge sheet was filed against the accused in the competent Court. The evidence collected by the prosecution against the petitioner are subjected to scrutiny by the learned trial Court after taking on record the entire material but at this stage when charge sheet has been filed at least the niceties of the matter can be looked into for the purpose of just decision of the bail application.

7. This Court feels that an under trial prisoner should not be kept confined for an indefinite period for no fault of them in impeding the course of trial. A perusal of the material revealing that the trial had been commenced in this matter in the year 2021 but owing to one or the other reason, the recording of the prosecution witnesses could not be completed. It is transpiring that out of the total 36 projected prosecution witnesses, only 13 could have been examined uptill now. This Court feels that looking to the snail’s pace progress of the trial, it would still take a long time to reach onto a legitimate conclusion. It is also noticed that sincere endeavors have not been made by the trial Court in proceeding with the trial to get an early culmination of the same.

8. This Court observes that the nature and gravity of the offence, alongside the evidentiary materials presented, are not the sole determinants in adjudicating a bail application. The expeditious conclusion of the trial within a reasonable time-frame is an essential consideration when deliberating the grant of bail to an accused. It is a well-entrenched principle of Criminal Jurisprudence that the presumption of innocence remains operative at the pre-convi