Allahabad High Court
Dilshad Ahmad vs State Of U.P. And Another on 21 August, 2023
HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD ?Neutral Citation No. - 2023:AHC:168931 Court No. - 73 Case :- CRIMINAL MISC ANTICIPATORY BAIL APPLICATION U/S 438 CR.P.C. No. - 12063 of 2022 Applicant :- Dilshad Ahmad Opposite Party :- State of U.P. and Another Counsel for Applicant :- Kamal Krishna Roy,Mohd. Saeed Siddiqui,Rajvendra Singh Counsel for Opposite Party :- G.A. Hon'ble Nalin Kumar Srivastava,J.
1. Short counter affidavit filed by counsel for the informant is taken on record.
2. Heard learned counsel for the applicant, Shri Roopak Chaube, A.G.A.-I, for the State and perused the material available on record.
3. This application for anticipatory bail has been filed by applicant- Dilshad Ahmad in connection with Case Crime No. 118 of 2022, under sections 143, 144, 145, 147, 148, 149, 153-A, 153-B, 295-A, 201, 511, 307, 332, 333, 353, 395, 435, 436, 427, 504, 505(2), 506, 120-B IPC and Section 4/5 of Explosive Substance Act, Section 7 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act, Section 83 of Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act and Section 3/4 of the Prevention of Damage to Property Act, P.S. Khuldabad, District Prayagraj.
4. On 10.06.2022 at 14:00, after Namaj of the Jumma, a crowd of thousands of people came at Atala Chauraha, shouting the religious slogans and in offensive mode, started stone pelting upon the police personnel with intention to kill and acting under a planned criminal conspiracy, the crowd also started attacking the police personnel and persons passersby by stone pelting and bombs from the front lane and roofs of the houses and due to that, some police personnel and Officers sustained grievous injuries. Extra police force was called to control the situation. F.I.R. was lodged against 70 named and about 5000 unnamed persons on 11.06.2022 at 3:11 pm and investigation started and now charge sheet has been submitted against the present applicant, who was also named in the F.I.R.
5. It has been submitted by the learned counsel for the applicant that applicant is innocent and he has apprehension of his arrest in the above-mentioned case, whereas there is no credible evidence against him. Allegations levelled against the applicant are false. The investigation of the case has been completed and charge sheet has been filed. It has been submitted that in case applicant is granted anticipatory bail, he shall not misuse the liberty of bail and would obey all conditions of bail.
6. It is further submitted that the Station Officer of the concerned police station was a new comer and it was not probable for him to identify the true assailants in the crowd of thousands of persons. It is further submitted that the accused applicant has been implicated in the F.I.R. with a wrong name and parentage and as such, he is not the person named as an accused in this case. In fact, he is a social worker and local leader of a political party and the police only due to animosity, has falsely implicated him in this matter. It is further submitted that as a matter of fact, on the date of occurrence, the applicant was suffering from fever and was confined in his house. It is next submitted that no grievous injuries have been caused to any person or any of the police personnel in this matter. It is also submitted that the accused applicant has not been assigned any role of assault in this matter. It is further submitted that subsequently, the administration published the photographs of 69 miscreants in this matter but the applicant does not find place in that list and no material evidence has been collected by the I.O. so far showing the complicity of the applicant or his presence on the spot during the alleged incident. It is further submitted that the applicant has no criminal history to his credit and no witness of this case has named the present applicant for any of his role in the commission of the alleged crime. It is next submitted that on the aforesaid ground, the prayer for grant of anticipatory bail till conclusion of trial has been made.
7. Per contra, Shri Roopak Chaube, A.G.A.-I, for the State and learned counsel for the informant have vehemently opposed the anticipatory bail application and has submitted that the accused applicant has been well identified by the police personnel on spot and he has played an active role in the commission of the alleged crime. It is further submitted that since he is a leader of a political party, he has been well known to the police personnel of the local police station as well as to the local public. It is further submitted that strong and ample evidence has been collected against the applicant during the course of investigation and he was an active member of the violent crowd, who was tried to override the law and order situation in the city and was engaged in making serious assault upon the police force and the public challenging the law and order situation and a huge damage of the public property has been caused by the present applicant and his associates. It is next submitted that the role of the present applicant has been well identified in the present case and there is no state of confusion regarding his identity.
8. It appears to be a case where the law and order situation has been challenged by a violent group of persons and a huge damage has been caused to the public property and the police personnel have also sustained injuries and the government vehicles were also set on fire by the applicant along with other co-accused persons. The applicant has been well identified by the witnesses.
9. In Sushila Aggarwal and others vs. State (NCT of Delhi) and another, (2020) 5 SCC 1, the Hon'ble Apex Court has settled the controversy finally by holding the anticipatory bail need not be of limited duration invariably. In appropriate case, it can continue upto conclusion of trial.
It has been further held therein that anticipatory bail granted can, depending on the conduct and behavior of the accused, continue after filing of the charge sheet till end of trial.
It has been further held by the Hon'ble Apex Court that while considering an application for grant of anticipatory bail, the court has to consider the nature of the offence, the role of the person, the likelihood of his influencing the course of investigation, or tampering with evidence including intimidating witnesses, likelihood of fleeing justice, such as leaving the country, etc. It has further been held that Courts ought to be generally guided by considerations such as the nature and gravity of the offences, the role attributed to the applicant, and the facts of the case, while considering whether to grant anticipatory bail, or refuse it. Whether to grant or not is a matter of discretion.
10. Hence, considering the settled principles of law regarding anticipatory bail, submissions of the learned counsel for the parties, nature of accusation, role of applicant, all attending facts and circumstances of the case and the fact that allegations are serious in nature, without expressing any opinion on the merits of the case, in my view, it is not a fit case for anticipatory bail to the applicant. Prayer made in the application is refused.
11. The application is rejected.
Order Date :- 21.8.2023 Shivangi