'No Likelihood Of Trial Being Completed'; SC Grants Bail To Undertrial Languishing In Jail For 9 Years

A Bench of Justices RF Nariman and BR Gavai were hearing an SLP challenging an order passed on December 3, 2019, passed by the Allahabad High Court wherein the third bail application of the instant Petitioner had been rejected with the observation that there was no new ground to release the applicant on bail.

It was held by the Supreme Court that "given the fact that the Petitioner is languishing in jail since 25.07.2012 and there is no likelihood of the trial being completed, the petitioner be released on bail, subject to the satisfaction of the trial court".

Accordingly, the SLP was disposed of.

The Petitioner in the instant case is allegedly involved in crimes covered under Sections 147, 148, 149, 307, 302, 324, 504 of the Indian Penal Code, and Section 7 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act. It had been submitted before the High Court that despite the trial court being directed to the conclude the trial within a period of four months from the date of production of certified copy of the order, the same had not happened.

Further, there were no independent witness of the alleged occurrence, there was no criminal history and that the instant Petitioner had been falsely implicated.

Without going into the merits of the case, a Single-Judge Bench of Justice Bachchoo Lal dismissed the bail application, while noting that there was no new ground to release the instant Petitioner.