Shivani Thakur
Published on: April 29, 2020 at 17:08 IST
The Punjab and Haryana High Court held that mere involvement of an accused in other cases cannot be the sole basis to deny Bail to a person and keep him confined in perpetuity.
“The Case for Bail has to be considered on its own merits. Even though the antecedents of an Accused may be one among the relevant considerations while Adjudicating a Petition on merits for Grant of Bail, however, a mere involvement of the Petitioner in other Cases cannot be the sole basis to keep him confined in perpetuity,” the Court said.
In this Case, Petitioner was Accused of attempt to murder, wrongful confinement, dacoity and criminal conspiracy along with offences under the Arms Act.
The Petitioner pointed out that the investigation was complete, he had been in Custody for nearly seven months and that the Trial was yet to commence.
The State Counsel, however, opposed Bail on the Grounds that the Petitioner had Criminal Antecedents and was involved in two other Cases.
Justice Bhardwaj said the stage of the Prosecution Case and the period of Custody as well as the role of an accused while considering the Bail Application and the Evidence collected during the investigation will always be the prime considerations.
Further, the Court stated that it was appropriate to release the Petitioner on Bail.