MUMBAI: Granting bail to a rape accused who was behind bars for over five years, Justice Milind Jadhav of Bombay high court said each day’s incarceration in prison amounts to a change in circumstance and therefore enables the accused to approach the bail court.
Police in Mumbai arrested Abhishek Kumar Singh in Feb 2020 over allegations of rape, extortion, and cheating, besides cyber offences. He withdrew a bail plea in 2020, and later, when he filed in 2021, HC dismissed it, citing ‘no change of circumstance’. The Supreme Court too, in Apr 2023, did not interfere with the HC dismissal.
Last year, he unsuccessfully sought bail again before sessions court and thus moved HC on grounds of prolonged incarceration and no sign of the trial concluding soon. The prosecutor, Megha Bajoria, and a lawyer, Tanmay Bhave, appointed via legal aid for the first informant, attributed the delay to Singh’s conduct. They argued that on last two hearings before the trial court, the absence of the defence lawyer delayed framing of charge—the last pre-trial step.
Refuting the prosecution’s claim, his advocates, Prashant Pandey and Dinesh Jadhwani, cited trial court records to argue that of the last 70 hearings, on 68 dates, Singh was not produced, leading to adjournments.
HC said it was granting bail on grounds of prolonged incarceration pending trial and the ignominy it brings. HC noted that while courts do have to consider the gravity of the offence, the likelihood of tampering with evidence or influencing the accused, and the flight risk of an accused, it has noticed that trials take time and prisons are overcrowded.
The court said it was aware of state prison conditions. In Mumbai, Arthur Road prison superintendent informed HC last December that each barrack meant to house 50, houses 220-250 undertrial inmates. “How can courts find a balance between the two polarities?” is the question that arises, HC said.
In this case, HC invoked the ‘bail is a rule, jail an exception’ principle and said, “When it involves a question of personal liberty of an under-trial who is incarcerated for a very long period, the powers of the HC are wide and unfettered by conditions.”
HC directed Singh’s release on a bail bond of Rs 25,000 and permitted immediate release on cash bail with conditions — monthly two-hourly appearance at the police station, cooperation with the trial, and not leaving the state without a court nod.
