Ordinarily Bail Shouldn't Be Granted To Accused If Court Is Of Prima Facie View That He Acted With Cruelty: Punjab & Haryana High Court

Stressing that cruelty is one of the factors in deciding on bails, the Punjab and Haryana High Court recently observed that ordinarily, once the courts form a prima facie opinion that the accused acted with cruelty, then such an accused should not be granted bail.

Underscoring that a cruel person is more likely to create a lot of insecurity in any society, the Bench of Justice Anoop Chitkara observed thus:

"Once the courts form a prima facie opinion that the accused acted with cruelty, then such an accused ordinarily should not be granted bail, and if the courts deem it appropriate to grant, then it must be after specifying the reasons for such an indulgence."

The Court observed this while dealing with the bail plea of one Manish Singh booked under Sections 307, 323, 379, 397, 452, 511 & 34 of Indian Penal Code on severely assaulting a middle-aged man.

On Mar 17, 2020, the complainant/wife informed the police that her husband went up to check the same after hearing noises from the roof. There, he saw two boys stealing copper wires.

On being confronted, they hit her husband, and he got severe injuries and was hospitalized. Allegedly, the accused gave multiple blows to the face and head and penetrated a screwdriver in his eye. He remained admitted to PGI and despite the best medical care, he has lost vision from an eye and gets seizures.

The Counsel for the state referred to the medical records to establish that the victim lost his eye, skull and entire jaw had to be resurrected and had to be given food through a tube inserted through his neck.

In light of these submissions, noting that the Accused/bail applicant had brutally assaulted an unarmed middle-aged person, the Court opined that an analysis of the allegations and evidence collected does not warrant the grant of bail to the petitioner.

In the facts and circumstances peculiar to the case, the Court concluded that the petitioner had failed to make out a case for bail during the trial.

Case title: Manish Singh @ Golu v. State of UT Chandigarh

Case Citation: 2022 LiveLaw (PH) 103

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