VISHWAJEET KUMAR Vs. STATE OF H P

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This petition has been filed, under Sec. 439 Crimial P.C. seeking regular bail on behalf of the petitioner, who is presently in judicial custody pending trial in case FIR No. 71 of 2016 dated 4.9.2016 under Sec. 302 read with Sec. 34 Penal Code before learned Additional Sessions Judge, Sirmaur at Nahan.

(2.) Pending investigation, petitioner was arrested on 6.9.2016 and thereafter he was sent in judicial custody. Later on, on 3.1.2017, he was released on bail by learned Sessions Judge. After release on bail, he appeared in the trial Court once on 22.2.2017, on which date case was adjourned for 2.3.2017 for consideration on charge. However, on 2.3.2017 petitioner did not appear and an application for exemption filed on his behalf on the ground that, as per information supplied by his father, Shri Bhim Kumar, he had taken admission in a school. Thereafter, he did not appear on 15.3.2017, however, on his appearance in Court on 20.3.2017, case was again listed for consideration on charge on 27.3.2017 on which date case was again adjourned on his request for 30.3.2017. On 30.3.2017, an application for exemption was filed on his behalf on the basis of information supplied by his brother that he could not present in Court as the petitioner and his father had met with an accident. Prayer for exemption was allowed and case was listed on 17.4.2017. Thereafter, again petitioner did not appear on 17.4.2017, 29.4.2017 and 5.5.2017. On 5.5.2017, father of petitioner had appeared and moved another application for exemption on the ground that petitioner had been advised rest for 3-4 weeks by the doctor. Believing his plea, the exemption from appearance was again permitted by the trial Court and case was adjourned for 20.5.2017. But on that day, neither petitioner nor his father appeared, but his bail was not cancelled on that day expecting his appearance on the next date i.e. 25.5.2017. On 25.5.2017 surety of petitioner appeared and had expressed inability to produce the petitioner, whereafter, neither petitioner nor his father appeared in the Court resulting into issuance of bailable warrants on various occasions.

(3.) For execution of bailable warrants, police visited the native place of petitioner and during that course, father of petitioner had made a statement that police had raided his house on 19.7.2017 at about 8.15 PM, but his son was absconding since 18.5.2017 without informing his whereabouts to any member of family and thus, he did not know where petitioner was residing. Shri Vijay Singh, Pradhan Gram Panchayat Raj Kochra had also issued the certificate to the same effect stating therein that petitioner was absconding since 18.5.2017 and was not having any link or contact with his family members and therefore, his relatives and villagers were not able to tell anything about him. The certificate to the same effect was again issued by Shri Vijay Singh Pradhan Gram Panchayat Raj Kochra by reiterating the version given in the previous certificate with further statement that he was not having knowledge about the whereabouts of petitioner. On the same day, father has again deposed before the police to the same effect. Ultimately, on the basis of call records, he was traced and in execution of nonbailable warrants, after keeping track upon him, he was arrested in March, 2018 after about one year. After his arrest, he had again moved an application for releasing him on bail before learned Additional Sessions Judge, which stands dismissed on 24.4.2018.