The Allahabad High Court granted bail to an accused who suffered incarceration for over 7 years and held that prolonged incarceration, coupled with a complete lack of progress in the trial, is a serious infringement on the applicant’s fundamental right to a speedy trial as guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution.

The Applicant sought bail in a case registered under Sections 302 and 307 of the Indian Penal Code. This was the second bail application on behalf of the applicant as the first one was rejected by the Co-ordinate Bench.

The Single Bench of Justice Krishan Pahal said, “Keeping the applicant in custody under these circumstances, when there is no realistic possibility of the trial being concluded in the near future, is both unjust and unwarranted. Justice demands that the applicant’s continued detention be reconsidered, and appropriate relief be granted without delay.”

Advocate Mayank Mohan Dutt Mishra represented the Applicant while the Government Advocate represented the Opposite Party.

Factual Background

The facts of the case suggested that the final report (charge sheet) was filed in the instant case in 2017 and after framing the charge, prosecution evidence was recorded. Three witnesses were examined in the court and after that five other accused persons who were exonerated by the police during the investigation were summoned U/s 147, 148, 149, 302, 307, 323, 504, 506 I.P.C. The aforesaid accused persons challenged the said summoning order before the Supreme Court and an order for staying the proceedings of the trial court was passed in the year 2019.

The trial court issued non-bailable warrants against the said five accused persons vide its order dated December 8, 2023. In the meantime, the court was informed that one of the accused persons had expired. His death report was sent for verification. One of the five accused persons summoned surrendered before the court in 2024 and his bail application was allowed by the Court.

Arguments

One of the main arguments raised by the applicant was that the trial is not moving ahead and is at a standstill. There is no likelihood of a conclusion of the trial in the near future and the applicant has been incarcerated for more than seven years and nine months.

Reasoning

The Bench referred to the judgments of the Apex Court in Javed Gulam Nabi Shaikh Vs. State of Maharashtra and Another (2024), V. Senthil Balaji V. The Deputy Director, Directorate of Enforcement (2024), Partha Chatterjee v. Enforcement Directorate (2024) and said, “It is settled principle of law that the object of bail is to secure the attendance of the accused at the trial. No material particulars or circumstances suggestive of the applicant fleeing from justice or thwarting the course of justice or creating other troubles in the shape of repeating offences or intimidating witnesses and the like have been shown by learned AGA.”

The Bench further stated, “It is deeply regrettable that the applicant has been languishing in jail for approximately seven years and nine months, with the trial having remained stagnant since 25.10.2019. Such prolonged incarceration, coupled with the complete lack of progress in the trial, is a serious infringement on the applicant’s fundamental right to a speedy trial as guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India.”

Considering the fact that three accused persons are still absconding, there is no likelihood of conclusion of trial in the near future and there are sixteen witnesses to be examined of which three have been examined, the Bench held that the applicant has made out a case for bail. The Bench thus allowed the bail application by imposing some restrictions.

Cause Title: Sarvajeet Singh v. State of U.P (Neutral Citation: 2025:AHC:12836)

Appearance

Applicant: Advocates Mayank Mohan Dutt Mishra, Sudhanshu Pandey

Opposite Party : Government Advocate

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Allahabad High CourtJustice Krishan PahalBail ApplicationConstitution of India

Tulip Kanth

Assistant Editor

Tulip Kanth is an Assistant Editor at Verdictum having over 5 years of experience in the field of legal journalism and editing. She extensively covers judgments of the Supreme Court, High Courts as well as Tribunals. She has previously worked with a legal publishing website where she oversaw the work of other editors and has also created updates on notifications of different Government Ministries. She holds an English Honours Degree from SGTB Khalsa College, Delhi University and has completed her LLB course with specialisation in Corporate Law from Amity University.