JUDGMENT :

Ashish Naithani, J.

1. The present second bail application has been filed by the Applicant,Zakir Ali, seeking his release on bail in connection with F.I.R. No. 106 of 2023, registered under Sections 302 and 201 of the Indian Penal Code at Police Station Pulbhatta, District Udham Singh Nagar. TheApplicant has been in judicial custody since 01.06.2023.

2. The case, as reflected from the F.I.R. dated 31.05.2023, is that the complainant alleged that the niece of the complainant was murdered by her own father, the present Applicant, and his son. The occurrence was stated to have taken place on 22.05.2023, and the last rites of the deceased were also performed immediately thereafter.

3. It was further alleged that when the complainant received theinformation of the death on 25.05.2023, he inquired from the Applicant and his son, who told him that the deceased had hanged herself. Dissatisfied with the explanation, the complainant made further inquiry from a person known as Chaman, who also did not give a satisfactoryanswer. The complainant then alleged that the Applicant admitted to having killed his daughter due to her alleged immoral conduct.

4. The investigation concluded with the submission of Charge Sheet No.01 dated 29.08.2023, under Sections 302 and 201 IPC, before the learned court of the Third Additional Sessions Judge, Udham Singh Nagar, where Sessions Trial No. 202 of 2023, State of Uttarakhand v. Zakir Ali, is presently pending. The co-accused, namely the Applicant’s son, has been declared a juvenile, and proceedings against him are being conducted before the Juvenile Justice Board.

5. The first bail application of the Applicant was filed directly before this Hon’ble Court as BAI No. 2775 of 2023 and was dismissed as withdrawn vide order dated 26.12.2023, with liberty to move before the appropriate forum. Subsequently, the Applicant moved a regular bail application before the learned court below, which was rejected by the learned Third Additional District and Sessions Judge, Rudrapur, vide order dated 04.01.2024. The present application is, therefore, the second one before this Court.

6. It is also on record that during the pendency of trial, the Jail Superintendent, Sub-Jail Haldwani, wrote a letter dated 21.12.2023 to the learned trial court informing that the Applicant was suffering from multiple serious ailments including, HCV Reactive condition, Chronic Liver Disease, Hepatocellular Jaundice, and Hypertension, and requested that his case be considered under Chapter XXV, Clause 577 of the Uttarakhand Jail Manual. The Applicant has annexed this letter along with his medical papers in support of his prayer for bail.

7. Learned counsel for the Applicant, Mr. Mani Kumar, submitted that the Applicant has been falsely implicated and that the prosecution case is based purely on conjectures and weak circumstantial evidence. It was argued that the F.I.R. was lodged after an unexplained delay of about nine days from the date of occurrence, which renders the prosecution story doubtful and gives room for manipulation.

8. Learned counsel for the Applicant contended that there is no direct eyewitness to the alleged incident. The entire case is founded on hearsay and an alleged extra-judicial confession, which is inherently unreliable and inadmissible in law. It was urged that there is no independent corroboration linking the Applicant to the alleged act of murder.

9. It was further argued that the health condition of the Applicant is precarious. He is suffering from Type III Diabetes Mellitus, Chronic Liver Disease, HCV Reactive infection, and Hepatocellular Jaundice, as certified by the Jail Superintendent, Sub-Jail Haldwani. It was submitted that the jail authorities are not adequately equipped to handle such severe medical conditions, and his continued incarceration would endanger his life.

10. Learned counsel drew the Court’s attention to the letter dated 21.12.2023 written by the Jail Superintendent to the trial court, recomme