Santosh Soni vs State Of Chhattisgarh
2024 Latest Caselaw 718 Chatt

Chattisgarh High Court

Santosh Soni vs State Of Chhattisgarh on 1 July, 2024

                 HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH, BILASPUR
                                     Order Sheet
                                  CRA No. 1399 of 2022
                  Santosh Soni and another Versus State Of Chhattisgarh


01.07.2024

Heard Shri Awadh Tripathi, learned counsel for the appellants.

Also heard Shri Amit Kumar Buxi, Panel Lawyer for the State.

IA-02 of 2024, is a repeat application for suspension of

sentence and grant of bail of appellant-1, Santosh Soni.

Learned counsel for the appellants submits that the first bail

application of applicant-1 has been rejected on 07.12.2023by this

Court on the ground of his past criminal antecedents but he has filed

the document with respect to result of the criminal antecedents

according to which, appellant-1 has been acquitted form the offence

under Section 376(1), 506 Part-II of the IPC, and 325 of the SC/ST

(Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 vide judgment dated 08.03.2013,

passed in Special Sessions Case-20 of 2012 from the Court of

learned Special Judge, Atrocity, Korba. Further, there was

compromise between the parties in the other criminal case-2495 of

2019, registered for the offence under Sections 294, 506, 323 and 34

of the IPC, in which he has also been acquitted on the basis of Cra 1399 of 2022

compromise in the case. In another offence under Section 13 of the

Public gambling Act, he has been convicted and sentenced for fine

only. Thus, the past criminal antecedents against appellant-1 have

been explained, and the documents in support of the same have also

been annexed in the appeal. Learned counsel further prays that

since the appellant-1 has explained his criminal antecedents, he

may be enlarged on bail.

On the other hand, learned counsel for the State opposes and

would submit that allegation of assault made upon the deceased

was, mainly upon the appellant-1 and it was also one of the ground

for rejection of his first bail application. Therefore, he is not entitled

for bail.

We have heard learned counsel for the parties and perused

the record.

Considering the allegations against present appellant-1 that

the allegation of assault is upon him and his first bail application has

been dismissed on this ground also, though he has been acquitted in

two of his previous criminal antecedents, we are not inclined to

enlarge the appellant-1 on bail, on the ground that he has been Cra 1399 of 2022

acquitted from his previous criminal antecedents, when the allegation

of assault is mainly upon him.

Accordingly, IA-02 of 2024, application for suspension of

sentence and grant of bail of appellant-1 is dismissed. However,

considering the fact that appellant-1 Santosh Soni is in jail since

22.08.2020, and going to complete four years of his jail sentence, we

deem it appropriate to hear this appeal finally, at an early date.

List this case for final hearing after two weeks.

                        Sd/-                                Sd/-
            (Ravindra Kumar Agrawal)                  (Ramesh Sinha)
                     Judge                              Chief Justice
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