Ritesh Saroj @ Golu Vs the State of U.P. Thru. Prin. Secy. Deptt. of Home Lko. — Allahabad HC (2025) — LawSathi Research

Ritesh Saroj @ Golu Vs the State of U.P. Thru. Prin. Secy. Deptt. of Home Lko. — Allahabad HC (2025) — LawSathi Research

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

Applicant Ritesh Saroj @ Golu to be released on bail in the case registered under the Uttar Pradesh Gangsters and Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act, 1986 on furnishing a personal bond and two reliable sureties, each of the like amount, to the satisfaction of the Magistrate/Court concerned, subject to conditions: (i) not to tamper with prosecution evidence; (ii) not to pressurize prosecution witnesses; (iii) to appear on each and every date fixed by the trial court unless exempted by the learned trial court.

Issue for consideration

Whether the applicant, shown in the gang chart as involved in a solitary earlier case (in which bail was already granted) and having no other criminal antecedents, is entitled to be released on bail in Case Crime No. 184 of 2025 under Sections 2/3 of the Uttar Pradesh Gangsters and Antisocial Activities (Prevention) Act, 1986.

Court's answer

Prima facie it appears that the applicant has been implicated in the present case merely because he has a criminal history.

Ratio / Principle

There appears to be no reasonable ground for prima facie believing that the applicant is guilty of the offence alleged.

Key takeaways

The minimum punishment which can be imposed on the applicant in case of conviction is imprisonment for two years; this formed part of the court's assessment favouring release on bail.ratio¶¶17
There is nothing on record giving rise to a reasonable apprehension that the applicant may tamper with evidence, influence the witnesses, abscond and not face the trial, or commit any other offence if released on bail.ratio¶¶18
Without expressing any opinion on the merits of the case, the Court held that the applicant is entitled to be released on bail.

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

Criminal Misc. Bail Application No. 9254 of 2025 (Ritesh Saroj @ Golu v. The State of U.P.), High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, Lucknow Bench — ALLOWED by Hon'ble Subhash Vidyarthi, J. on September 24, 2025. Bail sought in Case Crime No. 184 of 2025 under Sections 2/3 of the Uttar Pradesh Gangsters and Antisocial Activities (Prevention) Act, 1986, P.S. Kotwali Dehat, District Pratapgarh. Gang chart recorded the applicant's involvement in a solitary prior case in which bail had already been granted; he was involved in no other case and had been in jail since 26.07.2025. The A.G.A. opposed bail but could not dispute these aspects. The Court found, prima facie, that the applicant was implicated merely because of his criminal history; that there was no reasonable ground to believe him guilty of the offence alleged; that the minimum punishment on conviction would be two years' imprisonment; and that there was no apprehension of evidence-tampering, witness pressure, absconding or further offending. Without commenting on merits, the Court held the applicant entitled to bail and ordered release on a personal bond with two reliable sureties of the like amount, conditioned on non-tampering with evidence, non-pressurising of witnesses, and attendance on all trial dates unless exempted.

HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD LUCKNOW

CRIMINAL MISC. BAIL APPLICATION No. - 9254 of 2025

Ritesh Saroj @ Golu

.....Applicant(s) Versus

The State Of U.P. Thru. Prin. Secy. Deptt. Of Home Lko. .....Opposite Party(s) Counsel for Applicant(s) : Ajeet Kumar Mishra Counsel for Opposite Party(s) : G.A.

Court No. - 13

HON'BLE SUBHASH VIDYARTHI, J.

Heard Sri Ajeet Kumar Mishra, the learned counsel for the applicant, Shri Manish Vikram Singh Chauhan, learned A.G.A. for the State and perused the records.

The instant application has been filed seeking release of the applicant on bail in Case Crime No.184 of 2025, under Sections 2/3 of Uttar Pradesh Gangsters and Antisocial Activities (Prevention) Act, 1986, registered at Police Station- Kotwali Dehat, District-Pratapgarh.

The gang chart mentions involvement of the applicant in a solitary case, in which he has been granted bail. The applicant is not involved in any other case.

In the affidavit filed in support of bail application it has been stated that the applicant is innocent and he has been falsely implicated in the present case. It has also been stated in the affidavit filed in support of the bail application that the applicant is neither a leader nor member of any gang.

The learned A.G.A. has opposed the prayer for bail but he could not dispute the aforesaid aspects of the matter.

Prima facie it appears that the applicant has been implicated in the present case merely because he has a criminal history and the applicant is languishing in jail since 26.07.2025. There appears to

BAIL No. 9254 of 2025

2

be no reasonable ground for prima facie believing that the applicant is guilty of the offence alleged.

The minimum punishment which can be imposed in case of the applicant's conviction is imprisonment for two years.

There is nothing on record which may give rise to a reasonable apprehension that the applicant may tamper with the evidence or influence the witnesses or that the applicant will abscond and will not face the trial or that he is likely to commit any other offence in case he is released on bail.

In view of the aforesaid discussion, without expressing any opinion on the merits of the case, this Court is of the view that the applicant is entitled to be released on bail.

. 10. Accordingly, the bail application is allowed

Let the applicant- Ritesh Saroj @ Golu be released on bail in the case registered under Uttar Pradesh Gangsters and Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act, 1986 on his furnishing a personal bond and two reliable sureties, each of the like amount, to the satisfaction of the Magistrate/Court concerned subject to following conditions:—

(i) the applicant shall not tamper with the prosecution evidence;

(ii) the applicant shall not pressurize the prosecution witnesses;

(iii) the applicant shall appear on each and every date fixed by the trial court, unless his appearance is exempted by the learned trial court.

(Subhash Vidyarthi,J.)

September 24, 2025 Ram.

Digitally signed by :- RAM SINGH High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, Lucknow Bench