Filing Of Chargesheet Not Sole Criteria While Considering Grant Of Bail, Has To Be Coupled With Facts And Circumstances: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has observed that filing of chargesheet in a criminal case is not the sole criteria to be taken into consideration while considering the grant of bail to an accused as it has to be coupled with facts and circumstance involved.

“…this could would like to specify that though filing of the chargesheet is a material consideration while granting bail, however, the same is not the sole criterion to be taken into consideration as it has to be coupled with the facts and circumstances involved,” Justice Saurabh Banerjee said.

The court made the observations while denying bail to a 19 year old boy in a gang rape case, considering the facts of the case, coupled with the grievousness of the offences and severity of the punishment.

The FIR was registered for the offences under Section Sections 323, 328, 343, 376D, 376(2)(n), 506, 509/l and 120B of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.

The complainant alleged that she was forcefully intoxicated and her hands were tied-up when the applicant, alongwith with two other co-accused persons, invited others in lieu of money to commit sexual relations with her. It was her case that the atrocities continued for almost two years.

The counsel appearing for the applicant accused submitted and his client was a young boy of around 19 years, had clean antecedents and that there was an inordinate and unexplained delay of around 31 months in registration of the FIR.

The prosecution opposed the bail plea by submitting that the complainant had leveled extremely serious allegations against the applicant to the effect that it was he who used to call several persons for having sexual intercourse with her in lieu of the money and that he was in fact the king-pin.

Dismissing the bail plea, the court observed that though chargesheet was filed in the case, however, the complainant in both her statements before the police and the magistrate had specifically deposed not only naming the applicant but also attributing a specific role to him.

“The applicant has been assigned the role of bringing other persons to have physical relations with the complainant after charging them money. The involvement of the applicant, under the given circumstances, raises a concern…,” the court said.

Justice Banerjee noted there was no denial of the fact that the applicant was known to the other co-accused persons and that the same is a matter of trial.

“At this stage, there is no plausible reason or explanation given by the applicant for his involvement with the other co-accused persons in the commission of the alleged offences,” the court said.

Title: KESHAV PRAKASH GUPTA v. STATE NCT OF DELHI

Citation: 2023 LiveLaw (Del) 1246

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