Asif Khan Vs State of U.P. — Murder and Culpable Homicide | Allahabad HC (2025)

Asif Khan Vs State of U.P. — Murder and Culpable Homicide | Allahabad HC (2025)

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

No bail granted; bail prayer rejected. Application disposed of with the Trial Court directed to conclude the trial expeditiously, preferably within 4 months (per status report); conditional liberty reserved to the applicant to approach this Court or the Trial Court if the trial is not concluded within that period.

Issue for consideration

Whether bail should be granted to the applicant (Asif Khan) in Case Crime No. 837 of 2019 (Sections 307, 302, 120B, 34 I.P.C., PS Sadar Bazar, District Shahjahanpur) at the stage where prosecution witnesses have been examined and the trial is to record defence witnesses.

Court's answer

With the prosecution witnesses already examined and the trial at the stage of recording defence witnesses, no case is made out to grant bail at this stage even after taking note of the Investigating Officer's testimony; the Court declined to comment on the nature of the evidence, as any observation would adversely affect one side or the other. The applicant's bail prayer is accordingly rejected.

Ratio / Principle

While rejecting the bail prayer, the Court disposed of the application with a direction that the Trial Court take all endeavours to conclude the trial expeditiously, preferably within a period of 4 months as mentioned in the status report.

Key takeaways

If the trial is not concluded within the aforesaid period, the applicant will have liberty to approach this Court or the Trial Court, if so advised.ratio¶11

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

High Court of Judicature at Allahabad (Court No. 5) — Saurabh Shyam Shamshery, J. (September 15, 2025): Criminal Misc. Bail Application No. 29823 of 2025, Asif Khan v. State of U.P. The applicant, prosecuted in Case Crime No. 837 of 2019 (PS Sadar Bazar, District Shahjahanpur) under Sections 307, 302, 120B and 34 I.P.C., applied again for bail. Perusing the status report, the Court noted that the prosecution witnesses had already been examined and the trial stood at the stage of recording defence witnesses. Concluding that, at this stage, no case was made out to grant bail even after taking note of the Investigating Officer's testimony — and expressly declining to comment on the nature of the evidence, since any observation would adversely affect one of the parties — the Court rejected the bail prayer and disposed of the application, directing the Trial Court to take all endeavours to conclude the trial expeditiously, preferably within 4 months as mentioned in the status report. In case the trial is not concluded within that period, the applicant retains liberty to approach this Court or the Trial Court, if so advised.