The Jammu and Kashmir High Court recently held that no evidence can be entertained collected by the prosecution against the accused while deciding a bail application.
Case of the Applicant
The applicant- accused Amrit Pal Singh was charged with commission of offence under Sections 302/380/454 of the Indian Penal Code registered with Police Station, Janipur, Jammu for an occurrence alleged to have taken place on March 5, 2020 at Paloura, Jammu.
The counsel for the accused contended that there was no eye witness to the occurrence and the allegations were alleged solely on the ground of circumstantial evidence. Recovery of certain articles on the alleged disclosure statement made by the accused, the theft alleged to have been committed by the accused, medical report mentioning the cause of death of the victim because of asphyxia sustained in manual strangulation and the time recorded in the postmortem report regarding of death of victim do not relate the accused with the commission of the offence and does not even gives any sort of conformity.
It was further contended that the injury inflicted upon the victim as per the medical report is not grievous, thus the most that could have taken place between the two is mere scuffle and nothing beyond that.
Case of the Respondents
The counsel for the respondents contended to the submissions of the applicant and stated that the crime was serious and brutal in nature and that the investigation has gathered evidence against the accused- applicant and has confirmed the commission of offences alleged against the accused.
It was further added that the contentions raised by the petitioner cannot be commented upon and contended in the bail application as the same are matter of trial.
“The court is not required to thrash the evidence that has been gathered during the course of investigation by the police as it is for the trial court to appreciate the same. The accused is involved in a heinous offence and cannot claim the bail as a matter of right. The application requires outright dismissal at this stage”, he submitted.
Observation of the Court
The Court took into consideration the contentions raised by the counsel for the accused which are pertaining to factual and legal aspects of the case and the same will be examined at a later stage and not during bail application.
The Court made it explicitly clear that it will not step into the jurisdiction of the trial court on the aspect of the charges that may or may not be framed against the accused in the challan filed against him.
“It is suffice to mention here that after going through the challan it cannot be said that the present case is of no evidence against the accused only for the reason that there is no eye witness of the occurrence as per the challan nor can it be finally said that the circumstantial evidence through the prosecution intends to prove its case against the accused can have no bearing whatsoever on the culpability of the accused”, the Court stated dismissing the plea.
Case Details
Before: Jammu and Kashmir High Court
Case Title: Amrit Pal v. Union Territory
Coram: Hon’ble Mr. Justice Puneet Gupta
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