Jammu & Kashmir High Court
Vicky Kumar And Others vs Union Territory Of J&K on 1 October, 2021
Supplementary Cause list-2
Sr. No. 29
HIGH COURT OF JAMMU & KASHMIR AND LADAKH
AT JAMMU
Pronounced on : 01.10.2021
Crl A(D) No. 19/2020
CrlM No. 1332/2020
in
Crl Ref (L) No. 8/2020
Vicky Kumar and others .....Applicant(s)/Appellant(s)
Through :- Mr. Sachin Sharma, Advocate.
v/s
Union Territory of J&K ......Respondent(s)
Through :- Mr. Vishal Bharti, Dy.A.G.
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE DHIRAJ SINGH THAKUR, JUDGE
Coram: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE PUNEET GUPTA, JUDGE
::: :
ORDER
Per Puneet Gupta-J :
CrlA(D) No. 19/2020 :
Heard.
The appeal is admitted to hearing. Mr. Vishal Bharti, Dy.A.G accepts
notice on behalf of the respondent. Paper book be prepared by the Registry.
List along with Crl Ref (L) No. 8/2020 on 23.12.2021.
CrlM No. 1332/2020 :
1. The applicants-appellants, convicted for commission of offence
under Sections 302/120-B/201 RPC and sentenced to undergo life
imprisonment, seek suspension of sentence and grant of bail on the
grounds mentioned in the appeal. Indeed it is submitted by the
appellants that the conviction has been ordered on the basis of
circumstantial evidence only though the chain of events was not
complete and proved by the prosecution. The trial court has not
CrlM No. 1332/2020
appreciated the prosecution evidence in its true perspective and further
that the story was cooked to book the accused for the offences which
had not been committed by the applicants.
2. The objections to the application have been filed wherein it is
submitted that the appellants are convicted for the offence of murder
which is heinous in nature. The applicants-appellants are likely to
misuse the liberty of bail, if granted, in their favour. The prayer is for
dismissal of the application in hand.
3. The nominal rolls with regard to the appellants, issued by
Superintendent District Jail, Udhampur, are placed on record. The
applicant-Vicky Kumar is in custody for the last eight years whereas
the applicants Nos. 2 to 4 have undergone custody for a period of about
five years, eight years and five years respectively.
4. Admittedly, the prosecution case before the trial court was based upon
circumstantial evidence. The appellants have been convicted for the
murder of Sunny, husband of one of the appellants-convict Neelu Devi.
The death of victim is stated to be outcome of matrimonial dispute
between the deceased and his wife Neelu Devi and this factor was
motive for eliminating the victim as per the judgment of the trial court.
The disclosure statement by the appellants and discovery of weapons
of offence is also one of the factors which prompted the trial court to
convict the appellants. The judgment passed by the learned trial court
appears to be based upon the evidence which certainly requires
consideration by this Court. No doubt the prosecution has earned
conviction against the appellants after trial yet the court is of the
CrlM No. 1332/2020
opinion that there are sufficient grounds to grant bail to the appellants
in the present case.
5. In view of the above, the application is allowed and the sentence of the
appellants is suspended during the pendency of the appeal and the
applicants-appellants are granted bail subject to furnishing of personal
bond to the tune of Rs.50,000/- and surety bond of the like amount to
the satisfaction of the Registrar Judicial of this Wing. The applicants-
appellants shall appear before this Court during the course of hearing
as and when directed. The appellants shall cause their appearance
before the concerned police station once in a month during the
pendency of the appeal and inform the SHO of their whereabouts as
and when they intend to move out of the District where they reside.
6. The application is disposed of.
(Puneet Gupta) (Dhiraj Singh Thakur)
Judge Judge
Jammu:
01.10.2021
Pawan Chopra
PAWAN CHOPRA
2021.10.01 14:34
I attest to the accuracy and
integrity of this document
