Neither IO Nor Public Prosecutor's Office Seriously Followed Plea Against Anticipatory Bail Order: Gujarat High Court Ask State To Take Action

Observing that neither the Investigating Officer nor the Office of the Public Prosecutor seriously followed State's plea challenging the grant of anticipatory bail to an accused, the Gujarat High Court recently directed the Secretary, Home Department and Secretary, Legal Department to take appropriate action 

The single bench of Justice Umesh A. Trivedi observed:

“From the papers, a sorry state of affairs has been projected. Since the order of anticipatory bail of the respondent– accused passed on 01.08.2019, it came to be challenged by the State, that too, at the instance of the I.O. and present application has come to be affirmed on 17.01.2020 and filed on 18.01.2020. It appears that it has not been seriously followed either by the Office of the Public Prosecutor or by the Investigating Officer himself.”

According to the FIR, the main accused was found in possession of cash of Rs. 2,61,000/- in his house on December 5, 2018. However, the accused pleaded that he had borrowed the cash from the present respondent-accused for which an entry in the Tally Software account was produced by the main accused.

An anticipatory bail was granted in favour of the respondent-accused in the year 2019 which was challenged by the State before the High Court.

Justice Trivedi observed that the laptop of the main accused was examined by the FSL and the report of the FSL opined that entry letting amount of Rs. 2,50,000/- came to be entered on December 12, 2018 only after the present respondent–accused met the main accused, i.e. on December 6, 2018 and not on December 2, 2018 as claimed by him.

The court held that the order of anticipatory bail granted in favor of the applicant is required to be interfered with. Hence, it issued Notice returnable on April 11, 2023.

The court last month had directed the APP for the State to file an affidavit of Investigating Officer of the case with regard to the non-filing of the charge-sheet from the year 2019 till date. "However, charge-sheet against the present respondent has come to be filed," it said in the latest order

The court noted that the matter was adjourned vide order dated January 24, 2020 to February 5, 2020 and after that no effective orders were ever passed and it was never seriously followed by the Office of the Public Prosecutor.

The court thus directed that its order be sent to the Home Department and Legal Department for appropriate action. 

Case Title: State of Gujarat v. Rambhai Nathabhai Luna

Case Citation: 2023 Livelaw (Guj) 57

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