TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2012 (9) TMI 1182
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....ity of Bihari Lal told him that they had been asked by Lalla Babu @ Shiv Raj Singh to compel him to accompany them. As there was resistance, they threatened to kill him and eventually made Bihari Lal sit in between them on the Hero Honda motorcycle and fled towards Patwai. The incident was witnessed by Munish and Rajbir. In quite promptitude the appellant went to the Patwai Police Station, District Rampur and lodged the FIR as a consequence of which crime No. 770 of 2011 was registered for offences punishable under Section 364 and 506 of the IPC. On the basis of the FIR the criminal law was set in motion and the accused was arrested and taken into custody. 4. The accused Shiv Raj Singh @ Lalla Babu preferred bail Application No. 1268 of 2011 which came to be dealt by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Rampur who taking note of the allegations in the FIR and the stand put forth in oppugnation by the prosecution as well as by the victim observed as follows:- "I have perused the case diary. While confirming his abduction, victim Bihari Lal has stated under Section 164 Cr.P.C. that the abductors took him to the accused. Applicantaccused and his accomplices kept him confined in a....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....cial warrant. 8. Per contra, Mr. Irshad Ahmed, learned counsel appearing for the accused contended that the prosecution case is a fabricated, false and malicious one and it has been foisted because of political vendetta. It is urged by him that there is discrepancy between statements recorded under Section 161 Cr.P.C and 164 Cr.P.C and, therefore, the order passed by the High Court cannot be found fault with. It is his further submission that though the accused has been released on bail, yet he has conducted himself and in the absence of any supervening circumstances it would be undesirable to cancel the order granting bail as the sanctity of liberty should be treated with paramount importance. It is also argued that the High Court was absolutely conscious of the cases pending against accused but because of election disputes and constant animosity of the administration which was stand of the accused they were not dwelled upon in detail and an order admitting the accused to bail was passed on imposing stringent conditions. That apart, it is put forth that in the absence of any failure on his part to respect the conditions his liberty should not be put to any jeopardy at the instanc....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....charge. 12. In Masroor v. State of Uttar Pradesh and another (2009) 14 SCC 286, while giving emphasis for ascribing reasons for granting of bail, however, brief it may be, a two-Judge Bench observed that there is no denying the fact that the liberty of an individual is precious and is to be zealously protected by the courts. Nonetheless, such a protection cannot be absolute in every situation. The valuable right of liberty of an individual and the interest of the society in general has to be balanced. Liberty of a person accused of an offence would depend upon the exigencies of the case. 13. In Prasanta Kumar Sarkar v. Ashis Chatterjee and Another (2010) 14 SCC 496 it has been observed that normally this Court does not interfere with an order passed by the High Court granting or rejecting the bail of the accused, however, it is equally incumbent upon the High Court to exercise its discretion judiciously, cautiously and strictly in compliance with the basic principles laid down in a plethora of decisions of this Court on the point. Among other circumstances the factors which are to be borne in mind while considering an application for bail are whether there is any prima facie or r....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....deciding to cancel the bail." 18. We have referred to the above authorities solely for the purpose of reiterating two conceptual principles, namely, factors that are to be taken into consideration while exercising power of admitting an accused to bail when offences are of serious nature, and the distinction between cancellation of bail because of supervening circumstances and exercise of jurisdiction in nullifying an order granting bail in an appeal when the bail order is assailed on the ground that the same is perverse or based on irrelevant considerations or founded on non-consideration of the factors which are relevant. 19. We are absolutely conscious that liberty of a person should not be lightly dealt with, for deprivation of liberty of a person has immense impact on the mind of a person. Incarceration creates a concavity in the personality of an individual. Sometimes it causes a sense of vacuum. Needless to emphasize, the sacrosanctity of liberty is paramount in a civilized society. However, in a democratic body polity which is wedded to Rule of Law an individual is expected to grow within the social restrictions sanctioned by law. The individual liberty is restricted by la....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....w and the necessity of collective security, we may proceed to state as to what is the connotative concept of bail. In Halsbury's Laws of England Halsbury's Laws of England, 4th Edn., Vol. 11, para 166 it has been stated thus: - "The effect of granting bail is not to set the defendant (accused) at liberty but to release him from the custody of law and to entrust him to the custody of his sureties who are bound to produce him to appear at his trial at a specified time and place. The sureties may seize their principal at any time and may discharge themselves by handing him over to the custody of law and he will then be imprisoned." 23. In Sunil Fulchand Shah v. Union of India and others (2000) 3 SCC 409. Dr. A.S. Anand, learned Chief Justice, in his concurring opinion, observed: - "Bail is well understood in criminal jurisprudence and Chapter XXXIII of the Code of Criminal Procedure contains elaborate provisions relating to grant of bail. Bail is granted to a person who has been arrested in a non-bailable offence or has been convicted of an offence after trial. The effect of granting bail is to release the accused from internment though the court would still retain constructive c....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....efit of enlargement of bail to the accused. The prosecution by way of an affidavit had brought to the notice of the High Court about the cases pending against the accused. The High Court recorded the submission of the complainant that the accused was involved in 52 cases. On a perusal of the counter-affidavit filed before the High Court it is perceptible that it was categorically stated that the accused was a history-sheeter; that he was the pivotal force in getting the kidnapping done; that the victim Bihari Lal was in captivity for eight days; and that he escaped under the pretext that he was going to attend the call of nature. The High Court has only made a passing reference to the same and took note of period of custody of seven months and held, "considering the facts and circumstances of the case but without expressing any opinion on the merits of the case, the applicant is entitled to be released on bail". 29. It is worthy to note that the fact relating to involvement of the accused in various crimes was brought to the notice of the High Court by virtue of an affidavit filed by the competent authority of the prosecution. As per the Inspector-in-charge of the concerned police....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....had spent seven months in custody. That may be one of the factors but that cannot be the whole and the sole factor in every case. It depends upon the nature of the offence, the manner in which it is committed and its impact on the society. We may hasten to add that when we state that the accused is a history sheeter we may not be understood to have said that a historysheeter is never entitled to bail. But, it is a significant factor to be taken note of regard being had to the nature of crime in respect of which he has been booked. In the case at hand, as the prosecution case unfolds, the accused did not want anyone to speak against his activities. He had sent two persons to kidnap Bihari Lal, who remained in confinement for eight days. The victim was tortured. Kidnapping, as an offence, is on the increase throughout the country. Sometimes it is dealt with formidable skill and sometimes with terror and sometimes with threat or brute force. The crime relating to kidnapping has taken many a contour. True it is, sometimes allegations are made that a guardian has kidnapped a child or a boy in love has kidnapped a girl. They do stand on a different footing. But kidnapping for ransom or f....