Judicial Analysis Court Copy Headnote Facts Arguments Court observation

2024 Supreme(UK) 462

IN THE HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND AT NAINITAL
Alok Kumar Verma, J.
Deepak alias Deepak Kumar - Applicant
Versus
State of Uttarakhand - Respondent
Bail Application No. 1282 of 2023, Bail Application No. 1432 of 2023, Bail Application No. 1934 of 2023, Bail Application No. 2250 of 2023
Decided On : 23-02-2024

Advocates:
Advocate Appeared:
For the Applicant :Mr. Bilal Ahmed, Advocate, Mrs. Pushpa Joshi, Senior Advocate assisted by Ms. Chetna Latwal, Advocate and Ms. Nipushmola Joshi, Advocate, Mr. Aditya Pratap Singh, Advocate, Mr. Lalit Miglani, Advocate
For the Respondent:Ms. Manisha Bhandari, Special Counsel assisted by Mr. Dhruv Chandra, Advocate

IMPORTANT POINT
The court reaffirmed that bail is a right and should be granted unless there are compelling reasons to deny it, emphasizing personal liberty and the presumption of innocence.

Headnote:
Bail - Criminal Procedure - Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 - Sections 439 - The court discussed the provisions of bail under Section 439, emphasizing the presumption of innocence and the necessity of personal liberty, ultimately allowing bail for the applicants based on the circumstances of the case.
Fact of the Case:
The applicants are in judicial custody for their alleged involvement in a paper leak scam related to a public examination. They were accused of conspiracy and various offenses under the IPC and specific state acts.
Finding of the Court:
The court found no prima facie evidence connecting the applicants to the alleged offenses and noted that the charge-sheet had been filed, reducing the need for custodial interrogation.
Issues: Whether the applicants should be granted bail considering the nature of the charges and the evidence presented.
Ratio Decidendi: Bail is the rule and committal to jail is an exception; personal liberty is paramount, and the purpose of detention is to ensure attendance at trial, not punishment.
Result: The Bail Applications are allowed.

JUDGMENT :

Alok Kumar Verma, J.

The present Applications have been filed under Section 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 for grant of regular bail in connection with the Case Crime No. 12 of 2023, registered at police station Kankhal, District Haridwar.

2. These four Bail Applications have arisen from one case crime number i.e. Case Crime No. 12 of 2023, therefore, these four Bail Applications are being considered and decided by this common order. Record of the Bail Application No. 1282 of 2023 is leading file.

3. The applicant- Deepak alias Deepak Kumar is in judicial custody under Sections 409, 420, 120B of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (in short, “IPC”), Section 9, Section 10 of the Uttar Pradesh Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 1998 (in short, “Act, 1998”) (as applicable in the State of Uttarakhand), Section 8 and Section 12 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (in short, “Act, 1988”).

4. The applicant- Sanjeev Kumar is in judicial custody under Sections 409, 420, 467, 468, 471, 120B IPC, Section 3, Section 4 of the Act, 1998 and Section 8 of the Act, 1988.

5. The applicant- Manish Kumar is in judicial custody under Sections 409, 420, 120B IPC, Sections 3, 4, 9, 10 of the Act, 1998, Section 8 and Section 12 of the Act, 1988.

6. The applicant-Sunil Saini is in judicial custody under Sections 409, 420, 411, 212, 201, 120B IPC, Section 9, Section 10 of the Act, 1998, Section 8 and Section 12 of the Act, 1988.

7. Heard learned counsel for the parties.

8. The case of the prosecution is that on 12.01.2023, Pradeep Singh Rana, the Inspector, received a secret information that several persons were involved in a scam related to paper leak for the post of Patwari/Lekhpal. The said examinations were conducted by the Uttarakhand Public Service Commission on 08.01.2023. As per the First Information Report dated 12.01.2023, Rajpal Singh (co-accused) along with Sanjeev Kumar leaked the paper and sold it to the candidates and received money from them. The First Information Report was registered against seven persons.

9. During the course of the investigation, it was found that the applicant-Deepak alias Deepak Kumar along with co-accused Saurabh and Dharmendra purchased a printer and made copies of the question paper. The applicant-Sanjeev Kumar got the examination papers and leaked in a pre-planned conspiracy with the co-accused Sanjeev Chaturvedi, his wife-Ritu (co-accused) and Rajpal (co-accused). The examination papers were leaked and multiple copies were made before the examination by the applicant-Manish Kumar with the help of the co-accused- Sanjeev Chaturvedi, and, Rs. 1,20,000/- were recovered from the house of the applicant-Sunil Saini.

10. Learned counsel appearing for the applicants submitted that the applicants are innocent persons. They have been falsely implicated in the present matter. Learned counsel for the applicants further submitted that no prima facie evidence has been produced by the respondent against the applicants that could connect them with the alleged offence. The charge-sheet has already been filed, therefore, there is no requirement of custodial interrogation.

11. Mr. Lalit Miglani, Advocate has submitted that the marriage of the applicant Sunil Saini was took place on 07.12.2022. He had money for his honeymoon, which was recovered by the police.

12. Ms. Manisha Bhandari, learned Special Counsel, has opposed the bail applications.

13. The applicant-Deepak alias Deepak Kumar is in custody since 22.01.2023. The applicant-Sanjeev Kumar is in custody since 18.01.2023. The applicant-Manish Kumar is in custody since 13.01.2023 and the applicant-Sunil Saini is in custody since 03.02.2023.

14. The applicants- Deepak alias Deepak Kumar, Manish Kumar and Sunil Saini are permanent residents of District Haridwar. The applicant- Sanjeev Kumar is a permanent resident of District Saharanpur (Uttar Pradesh), therefore, there is no likelihood of their absconding. Charge-sheet has already been filed, theref

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