Himachal Pradesh High Court
____________________________________________________ vs State Of Himachal Pradesh on 20 January, 2025
IN THE HIGH COURT OF HIMACHAL PRADESH, SHIMLA.
Cr.MP(M) No. 2699 of 2024
Decided on: 20.01.2025
____________________________________________________
Chetan Sharma @ Mannu ……….. petitioner
Versus
State of Himachal Pradesh ……….respondent
____________________________________________________
Coram:
Hon’ble Mr. Justice Bipin Chander Negi, Vacation Judge
Whether approved for reporting? 1For the petitioner Mr. :
Surender K. Sharma,
Advocate (through video
conferencing).
For the respondent : Mr. Diwakar Dev Sharma,
Additional Advocate General with
Ms. Niyati Mohan, Deputy
Advocate General.
____________________________________________________
Bipin Chander Negi, Vacation Judge (oral)The present bail petition has been filed under Section
483 of the BNSS for grant of bail, in FIR No.203 of 2019, dated
19.07.2019, registered at Balh, District Mandi, H.P. under
Sections 307, 353, 332, 333 of the IPC and Sections 181, 192 &
196 of the Motor Vehicles Act.
2. I have heard learned counsel for the parties. Perused
the record and the status report.
3. Learned Additional Advocate General has placed on
record instructions dated 18.01.2025. From a perusal of the
instructions dated 18.01.2025, it is evident that in the aforesaid
FIR, the bail petitioner had been granted bail on 18.01.2021.
Subsequent thereto, since the petitioner did not appear before the
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Whether the reporters of the local papers may be allowed to see the judgment?
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Court on 13.03.2023, non-bailable warrants had been issued
against him. The reasons cited for the non-appearance on the
aforesaid date by the bail petitioner being that he had wrongly
recorded the date as 13.08.2023 instead of 13.03.2023.
4. The bail petitioner is in judicial custody since
26.06.2023. In the trial, there are in all eighteen witnesses, out of
which, thirteen witnesses have been examined. For recording of
the remaining five witnesses, the matter is now posted on
28.04.2025.
5. The consequences of pre-trial incarceration are
grave. A person presumed innocent is subjected to psychological
and physical deprivations of jail. Guilt of the individual is to be
determined at the trial. Further, a jailed individual is prevented
from contributing to the preparation of his defence. The burden of
his detention falls heavily on the innocent members of his family.
6. Personal liberty is a very precious fundamental right.
The same is to be curtailed only when it becomes imperative,
according to the peculiar facts and circumstances of each case.
The object of bail is to secure the attendance of the accused
person at his trial by reasonable amount of bail. The object of bail
is neither punitive nor preventative.
7. No useful purpose shall be served by keeping in him
lock up. Nothing is to be recovered from him. Custodial
interrogation is not required as the investigation in the case at
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hand is complete. He had previously been enlarged on bail vide
judgment dated 18.01.2021.
8. Nothing unfavourable has been stated in the status
report qua the social circumstances of the petitioner whereby it
can be made out that the petitioner is likely to betray the
confidence, that the Court may place in him to turn out to take
justice at the hands of the Court.
9. Hence, after going through the material available on
record and considering the overall facts and circumstances of the
case, this Court finds that the present is a fit case where judicial
discretion to admit the petitioner on bail is required to be
exercised in his favour. Accordingly, the bail application is
allowed and it is ordered that the petitioner, who has been
arrested by the police, in case FIR No.203 of 2019, dated
19.07.2019, registered at Police Station Balh, District Mandi H.P.
under Sections 353, 332, 333 of the IPC and Sections 181, 192
and 196 of the Motor Vehicles Act, shall be forthwith released on
bail, subject to his furnishing personal bond to the tune of
Rs.50,000/- (Rupees fifty thousand) with one local surety in the
like amount, to the satisfaction of learned trial Court. This bail
order is subject, however, to the following conditions:-
(i). Petitioner shall attend the trial Court on each
and every date of hearing and if prevented by any
reason to do so, seek exemption from appearance
by filing appropriate application;
(ii) Petitioner shall not tamper with the evidence or
hamper the investigation in any manner
whatsoever;
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(iii) Petitioner will not leave India without prior
permission of the Court;
(iv) Petitioner shall not make any inducement,
threat or promise, directly or indirectly, to the
victim and Investigating Officer or any person
acquainted with the facts of the case to dissuade
him/her from disclosing such facts to the Court or
any Police Officer;
(v) Petitioner shall inform the Station House Officer
of the concerned police station about his place of
residence during bail and trial. Any change in the
same shall also be communicated within two weeks
thereafter. Petitioner shall furnish details of his
Aadhar Card, Telephone Number, Email, PAN Card,
Bank Account Number, if any; &
(vi) It is made clear that in case petitioner is
arraigned as an accused, in future, in any FIR, then
his bail is liable to be cancelled. It is open for the
Investigating Agency to move appropriate
application in that regard.
10. Needless to say that the Investigating agency shall
be at liberty to move this Court for cancellation of the bail, if any
of the aforesaid conditions are violated by the petitioner.
11. Be it stated that any expression of opinion given in
this order does not mean an expression of opinion on the merits
of the case and the trial Court will not be influenced by any
observations made therein.
12. The Registry is directed to forward a soft copy of the
bail order to the Superintendent, Sub Jail Mandi, District Mandi,
H.P., through email, with a direction to enter the date of grant of
bail in the e-prison software.
13. In case, the petitioner is not released within a period
of seven days from the date of grant of bail, the Superintendent,
Sub Jail Mandi, District Mandi, H.P., is directed to inform this fact
to the Secretary, DLSA, Mandi. The Superintendent, Sub Jail
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Mandi, District Mandi, H.P., is further directed that if the petitioner
fails to furnish the bail bonds, as per the order passed by this
Court, within a period of one month from today, the said fact be
submitted to this Court.
14. The petition stands accordingly disposed of. A copy
of this order be sent to the Superintendent, Sub Jail Mandi,
District Mandi, H.P. and the learned trial Court by FASTER.
15. A downloaded copy of this order shall be accepted
by the learned Trial Court while accepting the bail bonds from the
petitioner and in case, said Court intends to ascertain the veracity
of the downloaded copy of the order presented to it, same may be
ascertained from the official website of this Court.
(Bipin Chander Negi)
Vacation Judge
January 20, 2025
tarun
Digitally signed by VANDNA SHARMA
DN: C=IN, O=HIGH COURT OF HIMACHAL
VANDNA PRADESH, OU=HIGH COURT OF
HIMACHAL PRADESH SHIMLA, Phone=
d3b84f3143a60e693f007f9c5e0fe88152279
f1d9f450a0255823cfc38862034,
SHARM
PostalCode=171001, S=Himachal Pradesh,
SERIALNUMBER=
3a417623218f5838c6af79de7dc1906f73126
6758b23a4f74fad98f0022165e3, CN=
VANDNA SHARMA
A Reason: I am the author of this document
Location:
Date: 2025.01.20 16:19:16+05’30’
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