TMI Blog2020 (5) TMI 737X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... dian Passport holder and an Indian citizen at that time, left for the U.K.. The extradition process took a long time and then the respondent/accused could be extradited only on an assurance given by the Government as to the environment in which the respondent/accused would be detained in Tihar Jail. One cannot therefore doubt the genuineness of the concern of the State that releasing the respondent/accused on bail would lead to a situation where he is able to distance himself and jeopardise trial. The State has come before this Court for seeking cancellation of bail immediately upon the grant of bail and, therefore, there has been no occasion for a disclosure through action or words, that the respondent/accused has/intends to thwart the process of justice or prevent fair trial. Liberty being precious to human life, bail once granted ought not to be lightly cancelled. The existence of supervening circumstances or other circumstances as listed hereinabove in their absence, must be strictly ascertained by the court before it cancels the bail already granted. The present case is not one such case where these circumstances exist as discussed above. The State has not succeeded in maki ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... also connected him to the crime. After the petitioner/State had initiated extradition proceedings in the U.K., the respondent/accused was arrested on 13.02.2020 and pursuant to orders of this court dated 14.02.2020, he was taken to Tihar Jail No. 3 the same day where he was extensively interrogated. A supplementary charge-sheet has also since been filed, which included a statement made by the respondent/accused, but which he refused to sign. The petitioner/State had obtained an order from the learned MM for taking voice sample and specimen handwriting of the respondent/accused, which were to be taken on 28.05.2020. 4. It is seen from the record that on 28.03.2020, the respondent/accused applied for bail in the court of the learned MM, Patiala House Courts, New Delhi, which was declined vide order dated 28.03.2020. Thereafter, on 29.04.2020, he moved the court of the learned Additional Sessions Judge, ('learned ASJ') Patiala House Courts, New Delhi who vide order dated 30.04.2020, granted bail to the respondent/accused directing that he be released on his furnishing a personal bond in the sum of Rs. 2 lakhs with two sureties in the like amount to the satisfaction of the c ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ch fact had been completely ignored by the learned ASJ. 7. It was also submitted by the learned ASG that as the king-pin of the conspiracy and as one co-accused is still absconding, the details of the Syndicate behind the match fixing could be traced only through this accused and, therefore, investigation was still pending and it was an error on the part of the learned ASJ to observe that the investigations were complete and evidence was only documentary as there were 44 public witnesses who were to provide the ocular evidence. It is further argued that all payments to the players and the agents were paid by the respondent/accused, which reflected that he had great money power and influence, which, it was possible for him, to use to threaten or cajole the 44 public witnesses, of whom seven were most crucial. Therefore, his remaining outside the jail would hamper fair trial. In these circumstances, it was prayed that the order granting bail be set aside and the respondent/accused be not released on bail. In support of his contention that the court should consider cancellation of bail on factors other than the existence of the supervening factor of interference with trial, the lea ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... vestigations. It was also submitted that as per the Covid-19 guidelines issued by the High Court for release of under-trials in jail to de-congest the prisons, further relaxation covered the cases with imprisonment upto 10 years. Further, merely because the respondent/accused was a foreign national, he could not be barred from praying for grant of the benefit of these guidelines for release. 10. Mr. Vikas Pahwa, learned Senior Counsel also sought to distinguish the cases relied upon by the learned ASG on facts, to submit that in all those five cases, the allegations were very serious as two related to fake encounters; one related to anticipatory bail granted in an abetment to suicide of a young bride and a case where the accused was a history-sheeter, which fact had been ignored by the court while granting bail to him. Thus, it is submitted that the reliance on these judgments was misplaced. 11. Though a bunch of citations was filed on behalf of the respondent/accused, viz., decisions in X vs. State of Telangana , (2018) 16 SCC 511 ; CBI, Hyderabad vs. Subramani Gopalakrishnan and Anr ., ( 2011) 5 SCC 296 ; Nityanand Rai vs. State of Bihar , (2005) 4 SCC 178 ; Dolat Ram ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e possibility of the accused absconding is yet another reason justifying the cancellation of bail. However, bail once granted should not be cancelled in a mechanical manner without considering whether any supervening circumstances have rendered it no longer conducive to a fair trial to allow the accused to retain his freedom by enjoying the concession of bail during the trial. These principles, it appears, were lost sight of by the High Court when it decided to cancel the bail, already granted. The High Court it appears to us overlooked the distinction of the factors relevant for rejecting bail in a non-bailable case in the first instance and the cancellation of bail already granted. 14. Therefore, while deciding the question of cancellation of bail, considerations as spelt out by the Supreme Court have to be borne in mind by the court. Once the court deems it appropriate to grant bail to an accused and thus, allow him some freedom through the concession of bail during trial, it would require very cogent and overwhelming circumstances for the court to withdraw that concession. 15. In the present case also, an assessment has to be made as to whether the respondent/accused is ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... of tampering with the evidence and witnesses due to his past conduct; the existence of the possibility of the liquidation and shifting of the proceeds of the crime to different foreign jurisdiction/entities to destroy the money trail and yet this court had rejected the application of the State for cancellation of the bail while holding as under:- 32. It is settled that once bail granted should not be cancelled in a mechanical manner without considering any supervening circumstances which is not conducive to fair trial. It cannot be cancelled on a request from the side of the complainant/investigating agency unless and until it is established that the same is being misused and it is no longer conducive in the interest of justice to allow the accused any further to remain on bail. No doubt, the bail can be cancelled only in those discerning few cases where it is established that a person to whom the concession of bail has been granted is misusing the same. However, all those facts are missing in the present case. 18. According to Mr. Pahwa, learned Senior Counsel, the facts in the instant case are nothing as serious as were alleged against the respondent/accused in Ratul P ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ns and status of the respondents/accused who were policemen who were supposed to uphold the law, but there was sufficient material to show that far from performing their duties, the protectors had become predators. The Supreme Court had also made the following observations:- 18. In considering whether to cancel the bail the court has also to consider the gravity and nature of the offence, prima facie case against the accused, the position and standing of the accused, etc. If there are very serious allegations against the accused his bail may be cancelled even if he has not misused the bail granted to him. Moreover, the above principle applies when the same court which granted bail is approached for cancelling the bail. It will not apply when the order granting bail is appealed against before an appellate/Revisional Court. 19. In our opinion, there is no absolute rule that once bail is granted to the accused then it can only be cancelled if there is likelihood of misuse of the bail. That factor, though no doubt important, is not the only factor. There are several other factors also which may be seen while deciding to cancel the bail. 23. In Dinesh M.N. (S.P.) (supra) ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e instances are illustrative and bail can be cancelled where the order of bail is perverse because it is passed ignoring evidence on record or taking into consideration irrelevant material. Such vulnerable bail order must be quashed in the interest of justice. (See: Dolat Ram v. State of Haryana, (1995) 1 SCC 349 Dinesh M.N. (S.P.) v. State of Gujarat : (2008) 5 SCC 66). No such case, however, was made out to persuade learned Single Judge to quash the anticipatory bail order passed in favour of accused 6 7. Order granting anticipatory bail to them, therefore, deserves to be confirmed. We feel that if the conditions imposed by learned Sessions Judge are confirmed, it would be possible for the investigating agency to interrogate the accused effectively. Learned ASG submitted that a perverse order granting bail can be quashed in the interest of justice. 26. Reliance has also been placed on the judgment of the Supreme Court in Kanwar Singh Meena (supra), to submit that the bail could be cancelled even in cases where the order granting bail suffers from serious infirmities, resulting in miscarriage of justice and where the court granting bail ignores relevant material. It ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... eleasing accused involved in heinous crimes because they ultimately result in weakening the prosecution case and have adverse impact on the society. Needless to say that though the powers of this court are much wider, this court is equally guided by the above principles in the matter of grant or cancellation of bail. 27. Lastly, the learned ASG relied upon the judgment of the Supreme Court in Neeru Yadav (supra) to submit that the Supreme Court in this case has reiterated concisely the factors that are to be borne in mind by the court while granting the bail. It would be useful to reproduce the relevant paragraphs, are as under:- 9. In this context, a fruitful reference be made to the pronouncement in Ram Govind Upadhyay v. Sudarshan Singh, (2002) 3 SCC 598, wherein this Court has observed that grant of bail though discretionary in nature, yet such exercise cannot be arbitrary, capricious and injudicious, for the heinous nature of the crime warrants more caution and there is greater change of rejection of bail, though, however dependant on the factual matrix of the matter. In the said decision, reference was made to Prahlad Singh Bhati v. NCT, Delhi, (2001) 4 SCC 280 an ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... te realm. While dealing with a case of second nature, the Court does not dwell upon the violation of conditions by the accused or the supervening circumstances that have happened subsequently. It, on the contrary, delves into the justifiability and the soundness of the order passed by the Court. 29. Thus, the learned ASG submitted that when materials not relevant such as Covid-19 guidelines, have been taken into consideration by the learned ASJ, the bail order was liable to be set aside. 30. I have heard Sh. Sanjay Jain, learned ASG appearing for the petitioner/State as well as Sh. Vikas Pahwa, learned Senior Counsel appearing for the respondent/accused and have perused the record, the citations relied upon by both the sides, and the written submissions filed on behalf of the respondent/accused. 31. The principles governing grant of bail which the courts have to consider can be enumerated, though not exhaustively, as under:- a) The gravity and severity of the offence and the nature of accusation; b) Severity of punishment; c) The position and status of the accused vis- -vis the victim and the opportunity to approach the victims/witnesses; d) The likelihood of ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... rious nature of the charges against the accused which disentitles him for bail and thus cannot be justified; g) When the order granting bail is apparently whimsical, capricious and perverse in the facts of the given case. 34. It is in the background of this law, as laid down by the Supreme Court, that the present petition for cancellation of bail is to be tested. The learned ASG has sought cancellation of the bail primarily on the ground of gravity of offence, which has international ramifications and the application of the guidelines for release in view of the Covid-19 to the respondent/accused. The time taken for getting the respondent/accused before the courts of law in India and the status of citizenship of the respondent/accused, i.e. of being a citizen of U.K., added to the fact that he was moneyed and connected, also rendered the respondent/accused a flight risk. 35. While it is no doubt correct that cancellation of bail is no longer limited to the occurrence of supervening circumstances and in the absence of any such supervening circumstances, the court dealing with an application for cancellation of bail is empowered to consider the soundness of the bail order, it ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ntentions of Mr. Pahwa, learned Senior Counsel, that for the last twenty years or at least ever since the charge-sheet was submitted in 2013, there is not a whisper that he had been flexing this financial and other power to prevail upon the 44 public witnesses to testify in his favour. 39. The consideration of the prevalence of Covid-19 and the guidelines issued by the High Court have not been irrelevantly considered by the learned ASJ as the guidelines are intended for dealing with under-trials in Tihar and other jails in Delhi and to allow those with no involvement in extreme and heinous cases to obtain bail. Merely because the respondent/accused has been given special facilities in the Tihar Jail, would be no reason to deny him the benefit of the Covid-19 guidelines and for this purpose, for an offence under Section 420 of the IPC, it would be improper to differentiate between an Indian and a foreign citizen. This would be unlike in cases under the NDPS Act or UAPA or NIA or PMLA or other similar extremely serious cases against the sovereignty of the State. Though the present case had international ramifications and the learned ASG referred to the existence of an alleged Synd ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... directing the respondent/accused to keep a mobile phone operational at all times. Apart from the brother of the respondent/accused who has also been directed by the learned ASJ to keep his mobile phone operational at all times, this Court directs that both the sureties, who have furnished the surety bonds, shall also furnish the details of their mobile phones to the SHO/IO and keep their mobile phones operational at all times. Further, the respondent/accused shall make a call to the IO/SHO once a day and shall not leave Delhi except with the permission of the Trial Court, which shall dispose of any application moved by the respondent/accused seeking permission to leave Delhi after issuing notice to the State and pass speaking orders thereon. The respondent/accused shall not leave the country till the trial is concluded, which the State shall endeavour to expedite. The petitioner/State would be entitled to alert all exit/transit points accordingly, to ensure that there is no attempt by the respondent/accused to leave the country. 44. The present petition for cancellation of bail is accordingly dismissed. It is underlined that nothing stated in this order will tantamount to an exp ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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