Bhupendra vs State of U.P. — Allahabad HC (2025) — LawSathi Research

Bhupendra vs State of U.P. — Allahabad HC (2025) — LawSathi Research

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

Conditional release of applicant Bhupendra on bail: furnishing of a personal bond and two sureties each in the like amount to the satisfaction of the court concerned, with sureties verified before issuance of the release order, subject to conditions that he shall not tamper with the evidence during trial, shall not pressurise/intimidate prosecution witnesses, and shall appear before the trial court on the date fixed; breach of any condition is a ground for cancellation of bail.

Issue for consideration

Whether applicant Bhupendra, in custody since 25.12.2024 for Case Crime No. 363 of 2024 (Sections 109/3(5) of BNS; Section 4/25 of Arms Act, Police Station Shergarh, District Bareilly), is entitled to release on bail during the pendency of trial, given parity with similarly placed co-accused Ritik who has already been enlarged on bail by the same Bench (order dated 21.07.2025 in Criminal Misc. Bail Application No. 17924 of 2025).

Court's answer

Without expressing any opinion on the merits, the Court held the applicant entitled to release on bail and allowed the bail application expressly on the ground of parity with the similarly placed co-accused already enlarged on bail by the same Bench; the Court considered the parties' submissions, the record, pending trial and reached its view in the light of this Court's Nanha judgment and the Supreme Court judgments in Paras Ram Vishnoi and Satender Kumar Antil.

Ratio / Principle

Release is conditional: the applicant is to furnish a personal bond and two sureties each in the like amount to the satisfaction of the court concerned, and the sureties are to be verified before the release order is issued.

Key takeaways

Bail is granted subject to conditions: (i) the applicant shall not tamper with the evidence during trial; (ii) the applicant shall not pressurise/intimidate the prosecution witnesses; and (iii) the applicant shall appear before the trial court on the date fixed.ratio¶15
Breach of any of the imposed bail conditions shall constitute a ground for cancellation of bail.ratio¶17
Observations made in granting bail to the applicant shall not in any way affect the learned trial Judge in forming his independent opinion based on the testimony of witnesses.

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

Bail granted expressly on ground of parity — High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, Court No. 65 (Hon'ble Krishan Pahal, J.), order dated 28.7.2025 (neutral citation 2025:AHC:124265), Criminal Misc. Bail Application No. 22749 of 2025. Applicant Bhupendra, languishing in jail since 25.12.2024 and charged in Case Crime No. 363 of 2024 under Sections 109/3(5) of BNS and Section 4/25 of Arms Act (PS Shergarh, District Bareilly), sought bail during pendency of trial. Prayer opposed by learned A.G.A., but the factual aspect of parity with co-accused Ritik — already enlarged on bail by the same Bench on 21.07.2025 in Criminal Misc. Bail Application No. 17924 of 2025 — was not disputed; the applicant's single-case criminal history was stated as explained. Without expressing any opinion on the merits, and in the light of this Court's judgment in Nanha (1993 Crl.L.J. 938) and the Supreme Court judgments in Paras Ram Vishnoi (MANU/SCOR/22410/2021) and Satender Kumar Antil ((2022) 10 SCC 51) — with the SC observation in Prabhakar Tewari ((2020) 11 SCC 648) that pendency of several criminal cases alone cannot justify refusal of bail — the Court allowed the bail application on the ground of parity. Release conditioned on a personal bond and two like-amount sureties to the court's satisfaction (sureties verified before release order) and on (i) no tampering with evidence, (ii) no pressurising/intimidating of prosecution witnesses, (iii) appearance before the trial court on fixed dates; breach constitutes ground for cancellation; grant-time observations expressly not to affect the trial Judge's independent opinion.