Point of Law:
The law in regard to grant or refusal of bail is very well-settled. The court granting bail should exercise its discretion in a judicious manner and not as a matter of course. Though at the stage of granting bail a detailed examination of evidence and elaborate documentation of the merit of the case need not be undertaken, there is a need to indicate in such orders reasons for prima-facie concluding why bail was being granted particularly where the accused is charged of having committed a serious offence. Any order devoid of such reasons would suffer from non-application of mind.

JUDGMENT :

JASPREET SINGH, J.

1. The Court has heard Sri. Pranshu Agarwal, learned counsel for the applicant and Sri. J.S. Tomar, learned AGA via video conference.

On application for Amendment in the memo of Bail Application:

2. At the outset, it will be relevant to mention that the learned counsel for the applicants had moved an application for amendment in the bail application and had sought to add two more Sections, in the bail application, with which the applicants have been challenged and remanded.

3. The copy of the amendment application was served on the learned A.G.A. on 30.05.2020 who has received his instructions and all necessary documents in respect of the above bail application.

4. The learned A.G.A. has filed his written instructions, as well as the copy of the case diary, which is taken on record.

5. Considering the amendment application, it is not disputed by the learned A.G.A. that two Sections namely Section 3(3) of Passports (Entry into India) Act, 1920 and Section 51 of Diasaster Management Act, 2005, which as per the learned counsel for the applicants were inadvertently left out, are also pressed against the applicants, hence the application for amendment shall stands allowed.

6. The bail application shall be considered in respect of the two above mentioned Sections as well which have been inadvertently left out which will find place in the later part of the order.

7. The learned counsel for the applicants shall carry out the necessary amendments in terms of circular of the High Court dated 14.04.2020.

On merits:

8. The applicants before this Court are foreign nationals who are in Jail since 18.04.2020. All the applicants are citizens of Kyrgyzstan and all of them have been accused of offences under Sections 188 I.P.C. Section 3 of Epidemic Disease Act, 1897, Section 12(3) of the Passport Act, 1967 and Sections 3(2) and Section 3(3) Passports (Entry into India) Act, 1920 and Section 14/14-C of the Foreigners Act, 1946 and Section 51 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005. All the above applicants are accused in Case Crime No. 81 of 2020.

9. As per the averments contained in the First Information Report, the Administration on 22.03.2020 had imposed Section 144 Cr.P.C. within the area of Lucknow Commissionarate. It is alleged that the same was widely publicised amongst the public. Information was received that in a Markaz Mosque situated at Dr. B.N. Verma Road within P.S. Kaiserbagh, District Lucknow, 6 foreign nationals who had entered India on a tourist Visa were being given shelter in the said mosque by its Manager namely Ali Hasan. The aforesaid foreign nationals had attended the religious congregation at Nizamuddin in New Delhi and thereafter had come to Lucknow and without getting their medical examination done, they were residing in the Markaz Mosque.

10. It is also alleged that the Manager of the Mosque had given shelter to these foreign nationals for the purposes of propagating and disseminating religious discourse and these persons have violated the norms and were staying at one place. It is also alleged that the local police/Administration were not informed regarding these 6 foreign nationals. The applicants were medically examined and on 31.03.2020 and they were kept at the Lok Bandu Hospital under 14 day’s quarantine under medical supervision. It is alleged that the applicants have deliberately violated the Government Orders and have worked against the provisions of law and for the aforesaid they have been accused of having committed offence under the Sections as hereinabove mentioned.

11. Before dealing with the respective submissions of the parties, it would be relevant to notice that Corona Virus (hereinafter referred to as COVID-19) was declared as a pandemic as it affected various countries across the world. Respective countries resorted to stern measures for the containment of the disease and for the benefit of their citizens. The aforesaid disease assumed a gigantic proportion and consequently assessing