Gujarat High Court
Anilbhai Bhupendrabhai Patel vs State Of Gujarat on 24 August, 2021
Bench: Sonia Gokani, Rajendra M. Sareen
R/CR.MA/14622/2021 ORDER DATED: 24/08/2021
IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
R/CRIMINAL MISC.APPLICATION NO. 14622 of 2021
In R/CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 1173 of 2021
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ANILBHAI BHUPENDRABHAI PATEL
Versus
STATE OF GUJARAT
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Appearance:
DARSHIT R BRAHMBHATT(8011) for the Applicant(s) No. 1
MS CM SHAH, ADDL. PUBLIC PROSECUTOR(2) for the Respondent(s) No.
1
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CORAM:HONOURABLE MS. JUSTICE SONIA GOKANI
and
HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE RAJENDRA M. SAREEN
Date : 24/08/2021
ORAL ORDER
(PER : HONOURABLE MS. JUSTICE SONIA GOKANI)
1. Rule. Learned Additional Public Prosecutor waives
service of notice of rule for and on behalf of the respondent -
State.
2. The applicant is before this Court seeking condonation
of delay of 530 days in preferring the appeal against the
judgment and order of conviction under Section 302 as well as
under Section 307 of the Indian Penal Code respectively for
the life imprisonment and 10 years on dated 02.08.2018 in
Sessions Case No. 86 of 2017 for the incident which had taken
place on 23.06.2016 and the applicant was caught on
13.06.2017 after about a year.
3. He was given parole leave on account of pandemic
where he contacted the lawyer and arranged for the money
R/CR.MA/14622/2021 ORDER DATED: 24/08/2021
for legal expenses. No male member being in his house after
he was sentenced, the mother could not manage the
arranging of money.
4. On hearing learned advocate Mr. Darshit Brahmbhatt
representing the applicant who urged that his socio-economic
condition did not permit him to file the appeal earlier and that
has caused the delay of 530 days. He also has urged that
recently when granted parole leave on account of the
pandemic, he, for the first time, could contact the lawyer and
hence, the delay be condoned.
5. Learned Additional Public Prosecutor Ms. Chetna Shah
has urged that he had various recourses open including
approaching the Legal Aid Cell in the jail where he is being
provided the legal assistance and legal aid for free, however,
she has not objected to any discretion being exercised by the
Court in wake of the fact that he is a convict who is in jail for
past about 4 years.
6. On having heard both the sides and also on being
convinced by the sufficiency of the reasons which have been
put-forth by learned advocate Mr. Brahmbhatt and also
noticing the fact that he is in jail for the past 4 years, the
Court is inclined to grant request of condoning the delay,
R/CR.MA/14622/2021 ORDER DATED: 24/08/2021
although we believe that this delay often has been caused
because of the insistence on the part of the applicant to
engage the lawyer privately.
7. So as to ensure that this may not be as a result of
absence of knowledge or less comprehension on the part of
the convict, so far as the availability of the legal aid in the jail
is concerned, we also specifically direct this order to be
placed before the Member Secretary, the Gujarat State Legal
Services Authority, who after putting it to the notice of the
Executive Chairman, can undertake the task of educating the
convicts and the jail inmates and spread the awareness of
availability of legal aid through Legal Aid Centres in the
central jails and sub jails and even otherwise, by preferring
the applications before such authorities. Let
continuous/periodical programs be arranged to make it
possible for the convicts to become aware of such availability
of Legal Aid through the Legal Service Authority.
8. Application is accordingly allowed. Rule is made
absolute. Copy of this order be also given to learned APP.
(SONIA GOKANI, J)
(RAJENDRA M. SAREEN,J)
Bhoomi
