Allahabad High Court (Hon'ble Sanjay Kumar Pachori, J.; order dated 10.1.2025) allowed Criminal Misc. Bail Application No. 771 of 2025 filed by Kundan Singh under Section 439 CrPC seeking release on bail in Case Crime No. 820 of 2023 (Sections 420, 467, 468, 471 IPC, Police Station Tundalla, District Firozabad), his earlier bail application having been rejected by the Sessions Judge, Firozabad on 29.11.2024. Counsel contended that the FIR dated 13.10.2023 was lodged about three years after the incident; that most detailed allegations were assigned to co-accused Deepesh Chaudhari and Amit Kumar Mutreja, who received amounts for facilitating a gas agency for the first informant; that no transaction or receipt of any amount was alleged against the applicant; and that similarly placed co-accused Sunil had already been enlarged on bail on 22.04.2024 (Criminal Misc. Bail Application No. 15188 of 2024), the applicant having no criminal history and being in custody since 15.09.2024. The A.G.A. opposed, arguing innocence cannot be adjudged pre-trial and liberty may be misused. Relying on the settled principle that bail is the rule and committal to jail the exception, refusal restricting Article 21 personal liberty (Balchand; Gudikanti Narasimhulu; Satender Kumar Antil), and weighing the nature of accusations and evidence, severity of punishment, character of the accused and allied factors without expressing opinion on merits, the bench held it a fit case for bail: release ordered on a personal bond and two reliable sureties, subject to conditions barring inducement/tampering/intimidation of witnesses, requiring presence at opening of the case, framing of charge and recording of the Section 313 CrPC statement, an undertaking against adjournments when witnesses are present, presence on each date personally or through counsel, and abstention from crime, breach being ground for cancellation; the trial court was urged to conclude the trial expeditiously, and the observations were expressly confined to the bail determination, leaving the trial court free to reach independent conclusions.