High Court of Judicature at Allahabad granted bail to Happu Chauhan in a criminal trial concerning theft and sale of tractors at Sikandrarao. The court imposed strict conditions regarding appearance and conduct.
Released on bail on personal bond and two local sureties subject to conditions regarding attendance and conduct.
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Court No. - 92
Case :- CRIMINAL MISC. BAIL APPLICATION No. - 984 of 2023
Applicant :- Happu Chauhan Alias Premveer Singh Opposite Party :- State of U.P. Counsel for Applicant :- Murtuza Ali,Imran Ali Counsel for Opposite Party :- G.A.
Hon'ble Shiv Shanker Prasad,J.
Heard the learned counsel for the applicant and Mr. Shravan Kumar Ojha, learned A.G.A. for the State as well as perused the entire material available on record.
The present bail application has been filed by the applicant- Happu Chauhan Alias Premveer Singh with a prayer to enlarge him on bail in Crime No. 0851 of 2018, under Sectons 420, 467, 468, 411 & 414 I.P.C., Police Station-Sikandrarao, District-Hathras, during the pendency of trial.
The allegation against the applicant in the first information report is that applicant along with other co-accused-persons were involved in theft and sale of several tractors and recovery of tractors has been made from various persons named in the present information report and all tractors in respect of theft was committed by them.
Argument on behalf of the applicant has been extended to the effect that in this case, applicant is innocent and has been falsely implicated in this case. The applicant has no role to play in the commission of the offence. Nothing incriminating has been recovered from the possession of the applicant or his pointing as he has not been arrested from the spot. Factum of recovery of tractor in front of the house of the applicant on the pointing of co-accused has not been supported by any independent public witness. There is also no evidence on record as to whether the tractor alleged to have been recovered in front of the house of the applicant is an stealing tractor or not. Apart from the above, the co-accused, namely, Gaya Prasad @ Gaya Lal, Dinesh and Ompal have already been enlarged on bail by this Court, copies of their bail orders have been enclosed as Annexure Nos. 3 to 5 of the affidavit accompanying the present bail application. The case of the present applicant is similar and identical to that of the aforesaid co-accused. As such the present applicant is also liable to be enlarged on bail. The applicant has no criminal antecedents to his credit except the present one. It is next contended that there is no possibility of the applicant of fleeing away from the judicial process or tampering with the witnesses and in case, the applicant is enlarged on bail, the applicant shall not misuse the liberty of bail. The applicant is in jail since 13th November, 2022.
Per contra learned A.G.A. has opposed the bail prayer of the applicant but he could not dispute the factual submissions as urged by the learned counsel for the applicant.
Considering the nature of the offence, provision for initiation of
cases and release the accused, material/evidence brought on record, complicity of the accused, severity of punishment, the submissions made by the learned counsel for the parties, as well as the dictum of Apex Court in the case of Dataram Singh Versus State of U.P. and another, reported in (2018) 3 SCC 22, let the applicant involved in aforesaid case crime be released on bail on his furnishing a personal bond and two local sureties each of the like amount to the satisfaction of the court concerned, subject to the following conditions:-
(i) The applicant shall file an undertaking to the effect that he shall not seek any adjournment on the dates fixed for evidence when the witnesses are present in court. In case of default of this condition, it shall be open for the trial court to treat it as abuse of liberty of bail and pass orders in accordance with law.
(ii) The applicant shall remain present before the trial court on each date fixed, either personally or through his counsel. In case of his absence, without sufficient cause, the trial court may proceed against him under Section 229-A of the Indian Penal Code.
(iii) In case, the applicant misuses the liberty of bail during trial and in order to secure his presence proclamation under Section 82 Cr.P.C. is issued and the applicant fails to appear before the court on the date fixed in such proclamation, then, the trial court shall initiate proceedings against him, in accordance with law, under Section 174-A of the Indian Penal Code.
(iv) The applicant shall remain present, in person, before the trial court on the dates fixed for (i) opening of the case, (ii) framing of charge and (iii) recording of statement under Section 313 Cr.P.C. If in the opinion of the trial court absence of the applicant is deliberate or without sufficient cause, then it shall be open for the trial court to treat such default as abuse of liberty of bail and proceed against him in accordance with law.
It is clarified that the observations, if any, made in this order are strictly confined to the disposal of the bail application and must not be construed to have any reflection on the ultimate merits of the case.
(Shiv Shanker Prasad, J.)
Order Date :- 13.1.2023
Sushil/-
Digitally signed by :- SUSHIL KUMAR SINGH High Court of Judicature at Allahabad
2 issues framed by the court
Whether the applicant should be enlarged on bail in a case involving theft and sale of tractors under Sections 420, 467, 468, 411 and 414 IPC.
Whether the applicant satisfies the requirements of bail considering the lack of prima facie evidence of guilt and crime.
Colour shows how this judgement treated each authority
Dataram Singh Versus State of U.P. and anotherExplained¶10
(2018) 3 SCC 22 · Who else cites this
6 provisions across 2 enactments
Happu Chauhan Alias Premveer Singh
State of U.P.
Shiv Shanker Prasad
As recorded by the court registry
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