Further Special Leave Petition (Crl.)
No 5131 of 2023 has been filed by the State/Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands assailing the correctness of the order dated 22 February, 2023 passed by the Calcutta High Court granting bail to the sole respondent (Sandeep Singh alias Rinku), co- accused arising out of the same FIR.
5192 of 2023 has been filed by State-Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands assailing the order dated 22 February, 2023 granting bail SLP(Crl.) No.3482 of 2023 Page 3 of 11 to sole respondent (Rishishwar Lal Rishi) another co-accused from the same FIR. The High Court further noted that as the accused Jitendra Narain, an IAS officer has already been transferred to Delhi, if some stringent conditions are put, the petitioner (Respondent No.2 herein) would not be in a position to influence any of the witnesses in the Islands.
5)
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The petitioner through his counsel shall submit his Passport before the Trial Court during the currency of the trial and in case of his official visit to outside, the Passport can be handed over to him by the Trial Court on proper application, being filed to that effect.” 5.
On the other hand, learned counsel for the accused have pointed out the various inconsistencies, contradictions and deficiencies in investigation and the evidence collected to show the falsehood of the prosecution case. It is well settled that, among other circumstances, the factors to be borne in mind while considering an application for bail are: (i) whether there is any prima face or reasonable ground to believe that the accused had committed the offence; (il) nature and gravity of the accusation; (ili) severity of the punishment in the event of conviction; (iv) danger of the accused absconding or fleeing, if released on bail; (v) character, behaviour, means, position and standing of the accused; (vi) likelihood of the offence being repeated; (vil) reasonable apprehension of the witnesses being influenced; and (viii) danger, of course, of justice being thwarted by grant of bail.
Having considered the matter and the applicable law, this Court notes that the decision of the Division Bench of the High Court of Calcutta (Circuit Bench, Port Blair) dated 20.02.2023 in CRM (DB)/1/2023 has neither dealt with the real issue, nor indicated reasons which are germane and, in our view, required consideration concerning the grant or rejection of bail. Condition No 4 imposed by the High Court shall stand modified accordingly, and; (D) Condition
No 5 imposed by the High Court is varied and shall now read as ‘ The Petitioner shall submit his Passport to the Trial Court. It is made clear that the onus of ensuring their safety is on the Union Territory Administration.
Case Title: XXX Vs. UNION TERRITORY OF ANDAMAN AND NICOBAR ISLANDS
Case Number: SLP(Crl) No.-003482 / 2023
