Pooja Chaudhary vs State Of Himachal Pradesh

Vivek Singh Thakur, J

This petition has been filed preferred for enlarging the petitioner on bail in case FIR No. 47 of 2020, dated 11.2.2020, registered under Sections 420, 120 B, 465, 468 and 471 of IPC at Police Station Baddi, District Solan, H.P.

Status report stands filed. According to the status report, investigation is complete and challan has been presented in the Court. However, supplementary challan shall be presented after receiving report from the State Forensic Laboratory, Junga and also obtaining the bank statements and call details report (CDR) of mobile number of petitioner and other co-accused and also obtaining and comparison of admitted signatures of petitioner as well as co-accused Moh. Hamid with their specimen signatures already obtained in the Court.

Petitioner, 27 years unmarried girl, is in custody since 11.2.2020. No doubt, she is suspect of commission of non-bailable offence, but considering facts and circumstances of the case along with her age as well as womanhood and also the contents of status report, wherein it is stated that now only admitted signatures and CDR of accused person is to be obtained, wherein there is no role of petitioner and being a woman, she belongs to a class which can be treated differently from other co-accused.

I find that it would be appropriate to enlarge her on bail at this stage. It is also submitted by learned counsel for the petitioner that petitioner is ready to furnish local surety.

Therefore, petitioner is ordered to be released on bail in case registered under Sections 420, 120 B, 465, 468 and 471 of IPC at Police Station Baddi, District Solan, H.P., on her furnishing personal bond in the sum of Rs.50,000/- with two sureties in the like amount, one of them, as undertaken by the petitioner shall be local surety, to the satisfaction of trial Court, within three weeks from today, subject to following conditions:-

(i) That the petitioner shall make herself available to the police or any other Investigating Agency or Court in the present case as and when required;

(ii) that the petitioner shall not directly or indirectly make any inducement, threat or promise to any person acquainted with the facts of the case so as to dissuade him/her from disclosing such facts to Court or to any police officer or tamper with the evidence. He shall not, in any manner, try to overawe or influence or intimidate the prosecution witnesses;

(iii) that she shall not obstruct the smooth progress of the investigation/trial;

(iv) that the petitioner shall not commit the offence similar to the offence to which he is accused or suspected;

(v) that the petitioner shall not misuse his liberty in any manner;

(vi) that the petitioner shall not jump over the bail;

(vii) that she shall keep on informing about the change in address, landline number and/or mobile number, if any, for his availability to Police and/or during trial;

(viii) She shall not leave India without permission of the Court.

It will be open to the prosecution to apply for imposing and/or to the trial Court to impose any other condition on the petitioner as deemed necessary in the facts and circumstances of the case and in the interest of justice.

In case the petitioner violates any conditions imposed upon him, his bail shall be liable to be cancelled. In such eventuality, prosecution may approach the competent Court of law for cancellation of bail, in accordance with law.

Learned trial Court is directed to comply with the directions issued by the High Court, vide communication No.HHC.VIG./Misc. Instructions/93-IV.7139 dated 18.03.2013.

It is made clear that enlargement of petitioner on bail shall not entitle the co-accused to release them on bail on sole ground of parity, but their cases are to be considered and decided, if any application is preferred by them, on its own merit and status report of the prosecution filed therein.

Observations made in this petition hereinbefore shall not affect the merits of the case in any manner and are strictly confined for the disposal of the bail application.

The petitioner is permitted to produce copy of order downloaded from the High Court website and the trial Court shall not insist for certified copy of the order, however, he may verify the order from the High Court website or otherwise.

The petition stands disposed of in the aforesaid terms.