Indresh Kumar Vs State of Uttar Pradesh & Anr. (Supreme Court of India)
The matter before the Supreme Court arose from an appeal challenging an order of the Allahabad High Court dated 15 December 2021, by which bail had been granted to an accused arrested in connection with Crime Case No. 08 of 2019. The case involved allegations under Sections 302, 201, 376 read with Section 120B of the Indian Penal Code and Sections 5 and 6 of the POCSO Act concerning the alleged rape and murder of an eleven-year-old child.
The High Court had granted bail after observing that it had considered the overall facts and circumstances, the nature of allegations, the gravity of the offence, the severity of punishment, the evidence against the accused, the principles laid down in Dataram Singh v. State of U.P., and the fact that a co-accused had already been granted bail. The accused was released subject to conditions restraining him from tampering with evidence, threatening witnesses, committing similar offences, and requiring his appearance before the trial court.
Read Allahabad High Court Judgment in this case: Allahabad HC Grants Bail as Victim Fails to Support Allegations during Investigation
The Supreme Court examined the reasoning adopted by the High Court and found the order unsustainable. It observed that the allegations involved rape and the cold-blooded murder of an eleven-year-old child. The Court noted that the allegations indicated that the child had allegedly been killed to prevent disclosure of the offence and that efforts had allegedly been made to conceal evidence by burying the body, clothes, and other articles. According to the Supreme Court, such conduct could indicate a tendency to evade the legal process and raised the possibility that the accused might flee from justice.
