Judicial Analysis Court Copy Headnote Facts Arguments Court observation

2026 Supreme(All) 65

HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD
SAMIT GOPAL, J.
Alok Singh - Applicants
Versus
State of U.P. - Opposite Parties
Criminal Misc. Bail Application No. - 32305 of 2025 Along with Application U/s 528 Bnss No. 8780 of 2025, Application U/s 482 No. 1569 of 2025, Application U/s 528 Bnss No. 18833 of 2025
Decided On : 30-01-2026

Advocates Appeared:
For the Applicants : Narendra Kumar
For the Opposite Parties : G.A.

The court emphasized that bail considerations hinge on the nature of evidence, trial stage, and parity with co-accused, enabling release under strict conditions to uphold justice.

Headnote:(A) Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 - Sections 439 and 482 - Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 - Section 13 - Criminal Mischief - Bail applications - The standard for granting bail includes consideration of the nature of the evidence and the stage of trial. The accused must adhere to the conditions imposed by the court during bail captivity, with significant emphasis on non-tampering with evidence. (Paras 40-42)

(B) Bail applications - While the gravity of allegations is significant, the court permits bail based on equivalency with co-accused and the time spent in custody, provided no substantial evidence is overshadowing the merits of the case. (Paras 41-44)

Facts of the case:
The applicant, a police officer, was involved in a corruption case where he allegedly took bribes amounting to Rs.50 Lakhs and was incarcerated since April 2024. The court previously rejected his bail application citing the severity of evidence. The current bail request emphasizes his long pre-trial detention and seeks parity with a co-accused granted bail. (Paras 4-6, 40)

Findings of Court:
The court permitted the bail for the applicant for four months due to long incarceration and to maintain proper justice balance with co-accused, albeit under strict conditions. The court orders were keen on the integrity of proceedings, requiring non-interference with witnesses. (Paras 41-44)

Issues: The primary concerns were the severity of the charges, the delay in trial, and the implications of the co-accused being granted bail while the applicant remained without a ruling on his application.

Ratio Decidendi: The court articulated that the function of the judiciary and police operates within distinct domains, but justice necessitates assessing the parity of cases in granting bail, especially when accompanying circumstances shift. (Paras 35-37)

Result: Bail granted with conditions.

Table of Content
1. introduction of cases before the court. (Para 1 , 2)
2. procedural details and prior bail applications. (Para 3 , 4 , 6)
3. court's ongoing observations on trial delays. (Para 5 , 7 , 8)
4. arguments presented by parties. (Para 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 22 , 30)
5. judicial reasoning concerning evidence and charges. (Para 13 , 19 , 24 , 36 , 42)
6. final directives on bail. (Para 14 , 40 , 46)
7. factual narrative detailing the events leading to charges. (Para 15 , 16 , 18)
8. court's analysis on the conduct of trial. (Para 17 , 28 , 29)

JUDGMENT :

SAMIT GOPAL, J.

1. Heard Sri Raja Chaudhary, Advocate, holding brief of Sri Narendra Kumar along with Sri Narendra Kumar, learned counsel for the applicant in Criminal Misc. Bail Application No.32305 of 2025 & Criminal Misc. Application U/S 482 No.1569 of 2025 ( Alok Singh Vs. State of U.P. and another ), Sri Preet Pal Singh Rathore, learned counsel for the applicant in Application U/S 528 BNSS No.8780 of 2025 ( Vishal Tiwari Vs. State of U.P. and another ) and Sri Karunesh Pratap Singh, learned counsel for the applicant in Application U/s 528 Bnss No. 18833 of 2025 ( Prachand Pratap Singh Vs. State of U.P. and another ) and Sri Birendra Pratap Singh, learned counsel for the State in all the matters. Perused the record and also the orders dated 05.01.2026 and 16.01.2026 passed by this Court in the bail application.

2. The present bunch of cases consists of Criminal Misc. Bail Application No. 32305 of 2025: Alok Singh vs. State of U.P. , Application U/s 482 No. 1569 of 2025: Alok Singh Vs. State of U.P. and another , Application U/s 528 Bnss No. 8780 of 2025: Vishal Tiwari Vs. State of U.P. and another and Application U/s 528 Bnss No. 18833 of 2025: Prachand Pratap Singh Vs. State of U.P. and another .

3. The bail application was earlier taken up on 05.01.2026 and following order was passed by this Court:-

“1. This matter is listed today as item no. 129 in the daily cause list of this Bench.

2. Post lunch, Shri Narendra Kumar, Advocate, appearing on behalf of the applicant, made a mention by producing before the Court an order dated 19.12.2025 in Special Leave to Appeal (Criminal) No. 16835 of 2025 (Prince Srivastava v. The State of UP) which is connected with SLP (Criminal) No. 15778 of 2025 that the Apex Court has granted bail to co-accused Prince Srivastava vide the said order whereas insofar as the applicant is concerned, has requested the High Court to consider the case of the applicant for regular bail as expeditiously as possible on its merits and in accordance with law, preferably before 30.01.2026.

3. The order passed in SLP (Criminal) No. 15778 of 2025, which relates to the applicant, reads as under:

"We dispose of this Special Leave Petition by noting the fact that the petitioner herein has sought for regular bail (Crl. Misc. Bail Application No.32305 of 2025 pending on the file of the High Court of Allahabad) and the said application is pending before the High Court.

In the circumstances, it is unnecessary to go into the correctness of the impugned order as in the present case the petitioner had sought default bail and the said stage has now lapsed.

We therefore request the High Court to consider the case of the petitioner herein for regular bail as expeditiously as possible on its own merits and in accordance with law and preferably before 30.01.2026. Pending application(s), if any, shall stand disposed of."

4. This is the second bail application of the applicant- Alok Singh in Case Crime No. 93/2024, under Sections 389, 406, 420, 506, 411, 120-B IPC and Section 13 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, Police Station- Kotwali, District- Gorakhpur. The first bail application of the applicant being Criminal Misc. Bail Application No. 25998/2024 (Alok Singh v. State of UP), was rejected by this Court vide order dated 02.12.2024.

5. Learned counsel for the applicant has drawn the attention of the Court to Annexure-12 of the paper-book and submitted that the trial court proceedings