Back
2024 Supreme(Online)(Del) 32676
IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
Sudhir Kumar Jain, J
NARENDER MEENA – Appellant
Versus
CENTRAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION – Respondent
BAIL APPLN. 1912/2023
For the Appellants/Petitioners: Ms. Rebecca John, Mr. Gaurav Gupta, Mr. Deepanshu Choithani, Ms. Anushka Baruah, Mr. Mayank Pachauri, Mr. Hasan Zaidi, Mr. Rohit Kumar, Ms. Madhuri Khubwani
For the Respondents: Mr. Rajesh Kumar, Ms. Mishika Pandita, Mohd. Changez Ali Khan, Insp. Rohit Yadav
In cases of serious charges against police officials, bail cannot be granted if there's significant risk of witness tampering and presumption of guilt based on evidence.
Headnote:(A) Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 - Section 439 - Indian Penal Code, 1860 - Sections 302/323/341/34 - Bail application - Serious allegations of murder of an undertrial prisoner by jail officials - Concerns regarding influence on witnesses and tampering with evidence led to the denial of bail - The trial court emphasized the importance of public interest and possible severe punishment upon conviction. (Paras 1, 3, 12)
(B) Bail - The principles governing the grant of bail, particularly in cases involving custodial deaths and the role of police officials, indicate a higher threshold for granting bail, considering the severity of the charges and the nature of evidence. (Paras 7.1, 9)
Facts of the case:
The petitioner was implicated in the alleged murder of Ankit Gujjar, an undertrial, who died due to injuries reportedly inflicted by jail officials, including the petitioner, amidst allegations of extortion and negligence in providing medical aid. The case was registered and later transferred to the CBI, with serious investigations leading to the filing of a charge sheet against the petitioner and co-accused.
Findings of Court:
After a detailed examination of facts, including witness testimonies and forensic evidence, the trial court emphasized the lack of grounds for bail given the gravity of allegations and potential influence on witnesses by the petitioner.
Issues: The principal consideration was whether granting bail could lead to witness intimidation and tampering with the investigation, particularly in a case concerning a custodial death.
Ratio Decidendi: The court found that in light of the serious nature of accusations and weight of evidence presented, especially concerning witness safety and evidence preservation, the petitioner did not meet the burden of proof necessary for bail.
Result: Bail application dismissed.
| Table of Content |
|---|
| 1. petition for bail based on accusations against jail officials. (Para 1 , 2) |
| 2. details on previous court decisions and its implications. (Para 3 , 4) |
| 3. arguments put forth by both representatives regarding bail. (Para 5 , 6) |
| 4. court's reasoning on denial of bail based on evidence and public interest. (Para 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11) |
| 5. final decision on the bail application. (Para 12) |
ORDER
1. The petitioner/Narender Meena has filed the present bail application under section 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (hereinafter referred to as “the Code”) seeking regular bail in FIR bearing no. RC-06(S)/2021/CBI/SC-III/ND dated 10.09.2021 registered under sections 302/323/341/34 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (hereinafter referred to as “ IPC ”) at P.S. CBI/SC-III/New Delhi.
2. The relevant facts of the case as reflecting from record are that FIR bearing no. 0451/2021 dated 09.08.2021 was got registered under sections 302/323/341/34 IPC at P.S. Hari Nagar pertaining to murder of an undertrial prisoner (hereinafter referred to as “UTP”) namely Ankit Gujjar in pursuance of order dated 07.08.2021 passed by the concerned court of Metropolitan Magistrate, Tis Hazari Courts, Delhi under section 156 (3) of the Code on an application/complaint filed by Geeta Devi, mother of UTP Ankit Gujjar. The allegations as made in FIR are that the petitioner/Narender Meena, the then Deputy Superintendent, Central Jail-3, Tihar Central Prison, New Delhi and other jail officials on 03.08.2021 had brutally beaten UTP Ankit Gujjar and did not provide any medical attention leading to his death in the jail premises. The petitioner/Narender Meena and other officials were harassing UTP Ankit Gujjar to extort money from his relatives. The mother and other relatives of UTP Ankit Gujjar filed writ petition W.P. (Crl.) 1558/2021 before this Court seeking transfer of investigation of FIR bearing no.451/2021 registered at P.S. Hari Nagar to CBI and coordinate bench of this Court vide judgment dated 08.09.2021 transferred the investigation to CBI. Accordingly FIR bearing no. 0451/2021 was re-registered vide RC no.06(S)/2021/CBI/SC-III/ND under sections 302/323/341/34 IPC at P.S. CBI/SC-III/New Delhi. The charge sheet was filed on 01.07.2022 before the concerned court under sections 304/323/34 IPC against the petitioner/Narender Meena and subsequently supplementary charge-sheet dated 13.09.2022 was filed before the concerned court against 06 persons including the petitioner/Narender Meena.
2.1 The petitioner/Narender Meena as per the charge sheet in June 2021 demanded Rs.5 lakhs from Ankit Gujjar for allowing him to use mobile phone and the deal was finalised at Rs.2,25,000/- and out of which Rs.2,00,000/- were paid. Subsequently Ankit Gujjar had decided not to give balance amount of Rs.25,000/- and the petitioner/Narender Meena due to this reason started to harass him as well as the other 02 inmates lodged in his cell namely Gurjeet @ Bobby and Gurpreet @ Badal. The witnesses were examined during the investigation and relevant documents and articles were collected. The investigation was focused on the 05 issues which are (1) use of criminal force/murder of Ankit Gujjar; (2) negligence in providing medical attention to Ankit Gujjar; (3) connivance of Vinay Thakur in not allowing the PCR personnel inside the jail to enquire about the condition of Ankit Gujjar; (4) non-functioning/shutting down of CCTV cameras and (5) extortion/demand of money by jail officials in Tihar Central Prison.
2.2 Regarding issue (1), statements of four eye-witnesses namely Gurjeet @ Bobby, Gurpreet @ Badal (both inmates lodged in the cell of UTP Ankit Gujjar), Bhisam @ Chintu and Deepak Koli [both sewadars at Chakkar (office of Deputy Superintendent, Internal)] were recorded wherein they primarily stated that a team of jail officials on 03.08.2021 at around 04:00 pm conducted a search of Cell-16, Ward-5A where UTP Ankit Gujjar was lodged along with Gurjeet @ Bobby
