Allowed

Sonit @ Soni v. State of U.P.

Allahabad HC28 Sept 2022BAIL/42377/2022

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

In Criminal Misc. Bail Application No. 42377 of 2022, the Court allowed bail to Sonit @ Soni charged with petroleum pipeline theft. The applicant claimed false implication, citing prior bail grants for similarly situated co-accused, establishing parity.

What did the court decide?

Applicant released on bail on personal bond and two sureties subject to conditions to appear in court and not tamper with evidence.

Sonit @ Soni Vs State of U.P. — Property and Title | Allahabad HC (2022)

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Court No. - 90

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Case :- CRIMINAL MISC. BAIL APPLICATION No. - 42377 of 2022

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Applicant :- Sonit @ Soni Opposite Party :- State of U.P. Counsel for Applicant :- Dhiraj Kumar Pandey Counsel for Opposite Party :- G.A.

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Hon'ble Ram Manohar Narayan Mishra,J.

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Heard Sri Dhiraj Kumar Pandey, the learned counsel for the applicant, learned A.G.A. for the State and perused the record.

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The present bail application has been filed by the applicant with the prayer to enlarge him on bail in Case Crime No. 413 of 2021, under Sections 379, 411, 427, 120-B I.P.C. and Section 15 and 16 of Petroleum and Pipeline (Acquisition of Right of User in Land) Act, 1962 and Section 4(A) of the Explosive Act and Section 3 and 4 of Prevention of Damages to Public Property Act, 1984 and Section 3/7 of Essential Commodities Act, P.S. Sarsawa, District Saharanpur.

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The aforesaid case has been registered on the basis of an F.I.R. lodged by the Manager Operation of Indian Oil Corporation Limited against unknown persons alleging theft of petroleum product from the pipeline.

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The present case was lodged on the complaint of informant Nauneet Kumar Circulation Manager, Indian Oil Corporation Limitted, District Sharanpur. On 01.12.2021 against unknown persons under aforesaid Sections in which it is stated that on 18.11.2021 an information was received in the night from Rudkee Control Room that there is leakage in pipe line, which was immediately investigated and no fault was found. Thereafter, while doing D.C.V.G survey on 27.11. 2021, it revealed that petroleum product was being continuously stolen away by unknown persons from pipe line. On investigation police arrested seven persons on 11.12.2021 and three persons succeeded to make good their escaping for noticing police teem, who had assembled at tube-well for committing theft from petrol pipe line in the vicinity of village Adharga. Accused persons namely Subham, Sandeep, Gurmeet @ Kala, Ajay, Bhupendra Singh, Ajit when they were arrested from spot, exposed the names of the persons, who had escaped as Sonit, Pitam, Vinit and large number of equipments such as a pipe, a drilling machine, building rod, iron chain etc. were recovered from the possession of the accused persons which were to be used in committing theft of petroleum products from the pipe line. The accused persons were arrested in the present case as well as in some other cases on the basis of their confessional statement. Learned counsel for the applicant has submitted that similarly placed co-accused Ajay has been released on bail by a co-ordinate Bench of this Court vide order dated 20.07.2022 in a Criminal Mis. Bail Application No. 27273 of 2022. Sandeep and Shubhan also released on bail by Co-ordinate Bench of this Court, vide orders dated 26.05.2022 and 25.05.2022, respectively and co-accused Gurmit @ Kala have also been released on bail on 20.05.2022 by a co-ordinate

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Bench of this Court who was arrested along with the objectionable material. The name of the present applicant came into light first time and he is innocent but he has been falsely implicated in this case. He further submits that the whole allegation as alleged in the impugned F.I.R. is false and nothing on record to support the story of prosecution. Nothing incriminating has been recovered from his possession or from pointing out of the applicant. The alleged recovery shown against the applicant is false. There is no public witness of the alleged recovery. A detailed explanation of the criminal history of 11 cases of a applicant has been given in para 6,7 of the bail application and all these cases are similar in nature and the applicant has been implicated in these cases after arrest in present case by police. Copy of one bail orders have been annexed on page no. 42 onward of the bail application. The applicant deserves to be released on bail on the ground of parity and also submitted that there is no apprehension that after being released on bail, the applicant may flee from the course of law or may, otherwise, misuse the liberty of bail and the applicant is in jail since 09.05.2022 and the possibility of conclusion of trial in near future is very bleak.

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Learned A.G.A. has, however, opposed the prayer for grant of bail, but he has not disputed the above contention made by the learned counsel for the accusedapplicant that co-accused has already been released on bail.

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Keeping in view the aforesaid fact, this Court is satisfied that the applicant has made out a case for being enlarged on bail pending conclusion of the trial. The bail application is accordingly allowed.

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Let the applicant- Sonit @ Soni , involved in the aforesaid case, be released on bail on his furnishing a personal bond and two sureties each in the like amount to the satisfaction of Court concerned subject to the conditions that he:

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