The Supreme Court while cancelling the bail granted to a rape accused has held that plea for custodial investigation holds no significance as relevant aspects to be considered for granting bail.
The Division Bench of Justice MR Shah and Justice Hima Kohli opined that the High Court has not taken into consideration the rather relevant aspects namely, seriousness of the offence alleged; material collected during the investigation; statement of the prosecutrix recorded under Section 161 of Cr.PC, etc. while passing the impugned order.
"The High Court has not at all considered the seriousness of the allegations and the gravity of the offences alleged against the accused. It is reported that the chargesheet has already been filed. So, whatever material has been collected during the investigation was required to be considered by the High Court while considering the application under Section 439 of Cr.PC. Even the observation that there is no need of further custodial trial is also not relevant aspect while considering the bail application under Section 439 of Cr.P.C. The same may have some relevance while considering the application for anticipatory bail."
Considering the fact that the chargesheet has already been filed, the accused is already chargesheeted and the relevant material is also now a part of the chargesheet, the same is required to be considered by the High Court, the Court added.
"Therefore, the matter ought to be remitted to the High Court to consider the bail application afresh and pass appropriate orders after considering the relevant material/evidence collected during the investigation which are now a part of the chargesheet", the High Court ruled.
The appeal was thus allowed.
CASE: Ms. A vs State of Karnataka & Anr., 2022 Latest Caselaw 913 SC
CASE DETAILS: 1981 OF 2022; NOVEMBER 17, 2022
CORAM: Justice MR Shah and Justice Hima Kohli
CITATION: 2022 Latest Caselaw 913 SC
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