This single-judge high court court rejected a bail application against a prison ward officer facing serious accusations regarding brutality committed during duty, finding that long incarceration alone was insufficient given the nature of the case.
Bail application rejected; Sessions Court directed to conclude trial within one year.
This page shows the compact analysis of this judgement. The full analysis — procedural history, issue-by-issue holdings with ratio and obiter, advocates, and paragraph-level evidence for every claim — is being added to the record in batches and will appear here when this judgement has been through it.
1/2 15 BA-614-21-corrected.doc
Corrected in terms of the order dated 20/10/2022
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION
BAIL APPLICATION NO.614 OF 2021
Sheetal Vasanta Shegaonkar .. Applicant Versus The State of Maharashtra .. Respondent
Mr.Mandar Mahesh Goswami for the Applicant. Ms.Rutuja Ambekar, A.P.P. for the State/Respondent.
CORAM: BHARATI DANGRE, J. DATED : 18th OCTOBER, 2022
P.C:-
Learned A.P.P. states that 7th witness of the prosecution is in the box and the prosecution intends to examine 33 more
M.M.Salgaonkar
15 BA-614-21-corrected.doc
witnesses. When total 7 accused persons are being tried in Sessions Case No.604 of 2017, undisputedly it is a long drawn process. However, looking to the nature of accusations levelled against the applicant of committing the offence while on duty as Prison Ward Offcer and the brutality with which the offence was committed with the specifc role of the applicant, being surfacing through the charge-sheet, I do not think that mere long incarceration is a ground for releasing him on bail. On reading the order dated 08/07/2019 and on perusal of the charge-sheet, I am unable to arrive at a different conclusion than what is recorded in the said order. In the wake of the above, the application deserves to be rejected and it is accordingly rejected.
( SMT. BHARATI DANGRE, J.)
M.M.Salgaonkar
2 issues framed by the court
Whether the delay in the conclusion of the trial is a ground for granting bail in a serious offence.
Whether the brautality of the accused should compel the granting of bail despite delay in trial.
Sheetal Vasanta Shegaonkar
The State of Maharashtra
Bharati Dangre
As recorded by the court registry
Judgements on the same questions, provisions and authorities, from every court
