The Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court has granted bail to Pathan Rashid Ahmad, who allegedly conspired to kill Hindu Samaj Party leader Kamlesh Tiwari in 2019.
A Single Bench of Justice Ajay Bhanot passed this order while hearing a Criminal Misc Bail Application filed by Pathan Rashid Ahmad.
By means of the bail application the applicant has prayed to be enlarged on bail in Case at Police Station Naka Hindola District Lucknow under Sections 302, 120B, IPC. The applicant has been in jail since 20.10.2019.
The first bail application of the applicant was rejected by this Court on 03.04.2023.
The following arguments made by Saqib Meezan, counsel assisted by Sahibe Alam, counsel on behalf of the applicant, which could not be satisfactorily refuted by Pankaj Kumar, AGA from the record, entitle the applicant for grant of bail:
The applicant has not been identified as either of the two principal offenders in the videos who committed the murder.
The applicant did not upload any provocative messages or messages including religious hatred or inciting violence on social media.
As per the prosecution case a role in the conspiracy has been attributed to the applicant. The evidence which is proposed to be tendered by the prosecution is the chargesheet which does not connect the applicant with the offence of criminal conspiracy.
The only implicatory piece of evidence is the statement of a co-accused made before the police authorities while in the custody of the latter. The said statement insofar as it implicates the applicant is not admissible in evidence. However even if the said statement is taken on its face value the offence of criminal conspiracy is not made out.
No incriminating article was recovered from the applicant. The applicant is a law abiding citizen who cooperated with the police investigations and had joined the trial.
The applicant never influenced witnesses or tampered with the evidence. The applicant did not adopt dilatory tactics or impede the trial proceedings.
The status report sent by the trial court records that all prosecution witnesses have been examined. The stage is set for proceedings under Section 313 CrPC/defence evidence. There is no possibility of the applicant influencing any of the witnesses.
The Court observed that,
Continued imprisonment of the applicant will disable him from crafting an effective defence strategy, gathering evidence in his support thereof and tendering the same before the trial court to absolve himself of the charges. Any further incarceration would be to the detriment of the defence of the applicant and contrary to the norms of processual fairness in criminal jurisprudence.
Considering the aforesaid parameters in light of the above facts of this case, I am of the opinion that Prabhat Gangwar (supra) is applicable to the facts of this case.
Counsel for the applicants claims congruency in role and seeks parity in relief granted to co-accused Yusuf Khan who has been granted bail by the Court on 02.05.2024.
The applicant does not have any criminal history apart from the case.
“The applicant is not a flight risk. The applicant being a law abiding citizen has always cooperated with the investigation and undertakes to join the trial proceedings. There is no possibility of his influencing witnesses, tampering with the evidence or reoffending,” the Court further observed while allowing the bail application.
The Court ordered that,
Let the applicant Pathan Rashid Ahmad be released on bail in the aforesaid case crime number, on furnishing a personal bond and two sureties each in the like amount to the satisfaction of the court below. The following conditions be imposed in the interest of justice:-
(i) The applicant will not tamper with the evidence or influence any witness during the trial.
(ii) The applicant will appear before the trial court on the date fixed, unless personal presence is exempted.
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