Court allowed bail to Mantosh Paswan in a case involving IPC offences and POCSO, noting subjective grounds including lack of prior record and COVID-19 infection. Court directed trial expediting under Article 21 without expressing opinion on merits.
Release on bail with personal bond and two sureties on executing conditions stipulated by the Court.
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Court No. - 76
Case :- CRIMINAL MISC. BAIL APPLICATION No. - 10462 of 2020
Applicant :- Mantosh Paswan Opposite Party :- State of U.P. and Another Counsel for Applicant :- Manoj Yadav Counsel for Opposite Party :- G.A.,Raj Kumar Singh,Sunil Kumar Singh
Hon'ble Vivek Kumar Singh,J.
Heard learned counsel for the applicant, Sri Sanjay Singh, learned A.G.A.-I for the State and perused the material brought on record.
The submission of learned counsel for the applicant is that applicant is innocent and has been falsely implicated. It is next submitted that the applicant is suffering from COVID-19. Moreover, there is an inordinate and unexplained delay of 15 days in lodging of the first information report. Several other submissions in order to demonstrate the falsity of the allegations made against the applicant have also been placed forth before the Court. Further submission is that applicant who is in jail since 04.02.2020, carries no other criminal history and there is also no possibility of his either fleeing away from the judicial process or tampering with the witnesses. Applicant also undertakes that he will not misuse the liberty, if granted.
Learned A.G.A. opposed the prayer for bail.
Considering the nature of accusation and the severity of punishment in case of conviction and the nature of supporting evidence, prima facie satisfaction of the Court in support of the charge, reformative theory of punishment, and large mandate of the Article 21 of the Constitution of India, the dictum of Apex Court in the case of Dataram Singh v. State of U.P. and another, reported in (2018) 2 SCC 22 and without expressing any opinion on the merits of the case, I find it to be a case of bail.
Let the applicant- Mantosh Paswan, involved in Case Crime No. 26 of 2020 under Sections 377, 504, 506 I.P.C. and Section 5M/6 of Protection of Children From Sexual Offences Act, 2012, Police Station- Bansdih, District- Ballia be released on bail, on his executing a personal bond and two sureties each in the like amount to the satisfaction of the court concerned with the following conditions :-
In case of breach of any of the above conditions, it shall be a ground for cancellation of bail.
The trial court is directed to expedite the trial of the present case and conclude the same as expeditiously as possible, keeping in view the law laid down by the Apex Court in the case of Alakh Alok Srivastava v. Union of India and others reported in AIR 2018 SC 2440, if there is no legal impediment.
It is clarified that the observations, if any, made in this order are strictly confined to the disposal of this bail application and must not be construed to have any reflection on the ultimate merits of the case.
Order Date :- 3.9.2020 KS
3 issues framed by the court
Whether bail should be granted to an applicant accused of offences under Sections 377, 504, 506 IPC and POCSO Act considering subjective grounds.
Whether the High Court can direct the trial court to expedite the trial under Article 21 of the Constitution.
Whether the applicant, suffering from COVID-19 and having no prior criminal history, poses a flight risk or tampering risk.
Colour shows how this judgement treated each authority
Dataram Singh v. State of U.P. and anotherReferred¶8
(2018) 2 SCC 22 · Who else cites this
Alakh Alok Srivastava v. Union of India and othersReferred¶16
AIR 2018 SC 2440 · Who else cites this
3 provisions across 3 enactments
Mantosh Paswan
State of U.P.
Vivek Kumar Singh
As recorded by the court registry
Judgements on the same questions, provisions and authorities, from every court
