LexBHAGIRATH SINGH S/O MAHIPAT SINGH JUDEJA versus STATE OF GUJARAT
Open in Lexace · Ask the AI about this caseJudgment (excerpt)
.,
839
. .
.
.
BfiAGIRATH SINH S/O MAH!PAT SINGH JUJ;>EJA.
V.
STATE OF GUJARAT
November 2l, 1983
(D.A. DESAI AND R.B. MIS!lA, JJ.]
Criminal. Procedure-Batl~For canrellatio'! of hail very cogent and
overWhelming circ1u11stances are neressar~'·
. PraCtice-Bailgranted by Ses$1ons Judge by ·a Well reasoned order-Set
aside by High Court~Supreme Cnw·t 'ro in"terfere .if approach "adopted by Higl}
Court is not commencjing ..
The appellant, against whom an offence under sec. 307 I.P.C. had been
A
•
B
c
registered for giving knife blows·to »'l person Was gra_nted bail by the Sessions
D
Judge. On applicat_icin by the State, a Sirigle Judge _of the High Court cancelled
the. bail. Hence this appeal by spe~ial leave.
•
Allowing ttie a·ppeal,
lJELD : Very ~ogent and -over~helming circumstances are n·ecessary for
an.order seeking cancellation.Ofthe bail and the trend today is towards granting
bail because it. is now well·settled that the power to grant bail is ·not to' be
exercised as if the punishment before ~aril is being imposed. The only n1:iterial
consjdeiations in such a situation are whether the. accused would be readily
available for his trial and whether he is likely to abuse the discretion'granted in
his·favour by ta111pering with evidence. {842 D-E]
In the instant case the _order made by ,the High Court is conspicuous by
its silence on these. two relevant consideratioii,S. The learned Judge was impres-
sed bY some of the most irreievant considerations and misdirected h_imself. The
circumstances found by him that the victim attacked was a social and political-
worker could not be considered so overridiilg· as to permit interference. by the"'
High Court with the discretionary Order of _the Sessioris Judge grU:nting _bail.
The High Court coffipletely.overlooked the fact that it. was not for it ·to decide
whether the bail shoU:Id- be gra"nted bllt the application before it was for
cancellation On the bail. L842 B.q
"'
•
CRIMINAL
1983.
APPELLATE . JURISDICTION
"
Criminal Appeal 'No. 658 of.
E
G
'
A
•
840
SUPRBMB COURT REPORTS.
[1984) i s.c.R. · ·· ·
<II
Appeal by Special leave from the Judgment and· Order dated
the 21st Octobef, _1983 of the Gujarat High Court in Criminal Misc .
. App!ication NC?. 1724 of 1983 .
.
Vima/ Dave for the Appellant. ·
.
I
.. .
B
. ·M. N. Phadke, R. iv, Poddar, Girish ·Chandra and C. V. Subba
c
D
E
F
G
H
Rao for the Respondent.
.The Judgment ofthe·court was delivered by
l:>Es.<1, J. Special Leave granted.
Onlinad.IY this Court is not inclined to interfere with the or,ders
either granting or refusing to grant bail to an accused peqon ~ither
··facing a criminal 'tiial or whose ·case after conviction is pending in
· appeal.· However, thi1 is not a case where bail is granted or refused
but the order granting the bail by the.learned Sessions Judge was set
aside by .the High Court adopting an. approach which does 11ot
commend to 'us.
. .
It is alleged that the appellant gave biows. with a knife to one·
Popatlal Sornthia; who had come to visit an indoor paiient Navalsinh
Bhatti on August 11; 1983 around 9.45 A.M. Appellani was accosted
. by· the policemen on duty.. An offence ·under Sec. 307 'i.P.C. was.·
registered against him \ind the appellant was taken into custody and
was subsequently remanded to judicial ·custody. An application for
releasing him on bail was made on August 22, 1983 to ·the Chief
Judicial Magistrate, Rajkot. The Chief Judicial Magistrate,. Rajkot
was pleased to dismiss .the sa'ine by his order dated August·29, 1983.
On the same day, an application for releasing the appellant .on
bail was moved before the learned Sessions· Judge: A notke was .
issued to.the learned Public Prosecuier. After hearing both the sides,·
the le~rned Sessions judge by a well-reasoned order directed that:
the · appellant be released on bail on his furnishing security in the
amount of Rs.SOOD and persona_! bond of tpe like amount.
.
.
It Appears that the State of Gujarat filed Misceliancens Criminal
Application No. 1724 of 1983 in the High Court of Gujarat seeking
cancellation of the order granting bail to the appellant. A learned·
.. Single Judge Mthe High C,ourt held that once ~ prima facia case is
..
.
, iiaAGIRATHSINH v. ouJARAT (Desai, J.\ .
. S4i
.
'
established, the learned Sessiqns Judge ought to have taken into con·
sideration the nature and , gravity of the ,circulI)stances in which the
offenExcerpt shown. Read the full judgment & AI analysis in Lexace.