Supreme Court Sets Aside High Court Bail Order in Murder Case - Bail Cancelled for Accused in Fatal Assault Involving SC/ST Act Allegations

Nature of Litigation: Criminal appeal challenging bail order in murder case with SC/ST Act allegations

Remedy Sought

Appellant sought cancellation of bail granted to accused persons by High Court

Filing Reason

Appellant contended that High Court erred in granting bail by considering extraneous factors and making observations on merits

Previous Decisions

High Court granted bail to accused persons vide order dated 1st March, 2023 in Criminal Appeal No. 132 of 2023

Issues

Whether the High Court committed error in granting bail to accused persons in a serious offence involving murder and caste-based allegations Whether the parameters for grant of bail in serious offences were properly applied by the High Court Whether the High Court's observations on merits of case at bail stage were justified

Submissions/Arguments

Appellant contended that High Court granted bail on extraneous considerations and faulty assumptions -- Appellant argued that specific allegations in FIR regarding active participation of accused in fatal assault were overlooked -- Appellant submitted that High Court erred in dissecting medical evidence at bail stage -- Appellant urged that pending civil litigation constituted motive for crime, not ground for bail -- Respondents argued that High Court properly considered material on record and granted bail appropriately -- Respondents contended that gap between incident and death created doubt about nexus between injuries and death -- Respondents submitted that cancellation of bail should be resorted to only in rarest of rare cases

Ratio Decidendi

The High Court committed grave error in granting bail by considering extraneous factors and making observations on merits of case at bail stage -- In serious offences involving murder and caste-based allegations, bail should be granted only after careful consideration of all relevant factors -- The parameters for grant of bail in such serious cases were not properly applied by the High Court -- The pending civil litigation between parties, which constituted motive for crime, could not be treated as ground for granting bail -- The Court should not engage in detailed examination of evidence at bail stage, which is the domain of trial court

Judgment Excerpts

The High Court granted bail to the respondents-accused on the flimsy and faulty assumption that the injured witness could not state with certainty as to which body part of the deceased Namdev was targeted by the respondents-accused during the assault -- The High Court also fell in grave error in granting bail by dissecting the medical evidence as if the case was being finally decided at the stage of trial -- The High Court erroneously treated the pendency of civil litigation between the parties as a ground for granting bail, whereas, in fact, the said pending civil dispute constituted the very motive for the accused to launch the murderous assault -- Cancellation of bail should be resorted to only in the rarest of rare cases, where there exists specific substantiated material suggesting that the accused released on bail has violated the terms and conditions of bail, or has tampered with

Procedural History

FIR registered on 19th August, 2022 for various offences under IPC and SC/ST Act -- Section 302 IPC added after death of victim on 24th August, 2022 -- High Court granted bail to accused persons vide order dated 1st March, 2023 -- Supreme Court granted leave and heard appeal challenging the bail order