Order

1. Matter comes upon an application seeking early hearing of the case.

2. For the reasons and grounds mentioned in the application, the same is allowed.

3. The matter is heard today itself.

4. The present writ petition has been preferred under Article 226 of the Constitution of India read with Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, seeking grant of interim bail to the petitioner, who is presently lodged in judicial custody.

5. It is not in dispute that the petitioner is an under-trial prisoner and has been incarcerated since November, 2019 in connection with multiple FIRs. Over a period of time, other FIRs have also been registered against him, the particulars whereof have been detailed in Annexure-2 placed on record. For the ease of reference, the particulars of the FIR’s registered against the petitioner are mentioned below:-

6. The petitioner seeks interim release on humanitarian grounds on account of the serious medical condition of his father. It is specifically pleaded that Percutaneous Transluminal Coronary Angioplasty (PTCA) has been advised by the concerned doctor for his father. Copies of the medical reports and receipts have been placed on record. It is further submitted that, for the proposed surgery, the presence and assistance of the petitioner, being the son, is required to attend to medical formalities, post-operative care, and other indispensable arrangements.

7. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the continued incarceration of the petitioner since 2019, coupled with the emergent medical condition of his father, warrants indulgence of this Court for a limited period. It is contended that the relief sought is purely temporary, humanitarian in character and does not touch upon the merits of the pending criminal cases.

8. Per contra, learned AGA opposes the prayer for interim bail but does not seriously dispute the medical documents placed on record. It is submitted that in the event this Court is inclined to grant any indulgence, the same may be made subject to stringent conditions so as to safeguard the interests of justice.

9. Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and learned AGA for the State and perused the material available on record.

10. The scope of the present petition is confined to consideration of interim bail on humanitarian grounds. The petitioner is not seeking adjudication on the merits of the allegations levelled in the FIRs, nor is he seeking regular bail. The fact that multiple FIRs have been registered in relation to the same alleged series of transactions and that the petitioner has been in custody for a substantial period since November, 2019, coupled with the emergent medical condition of his father, justifies invocation of the extraordinary jurisdiction of this Court for a limited and purpose-specific relief.

11. Serious illness of a parent, particularly where immediate surgical intervention is medically advised, has consistently been recognized as a valid humanitarian ground for temporary release, subject to adequate safeguards. In the present case, the medical records prima facie indicate urgency of the proposed surgery. The requirement of the petitioner’s presence to assist his ailing father during the surgical procedure and immediate post-operative period cannot be brushed aside, especially in the absence of any material to doubt the genuineness of the medical condition.

12. This Court is equally mindful of the nature of accusations and the multiplicity of cases pending against the petitioner