Research › Search › Judgment

Gujarat High Court · body

2016 DIGILAW 2021 (GUJ)

Hamid Aashif Bundu Joje (Muslim) v. State of Gujarat

2016-09-08

ANANT S.DAVE, B.N.KARIA

body2016
ORDER : ANANT S. DAVE, J. This application is preferred by the applicant/original accused No. 3 under Section 389 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (“CrPC” for short) seeking suspension of sentence and for grant of regular bail, pending final hearing of accompanying Criminal Appeal No. 1251 of 2016 on the ground that conviction and sentence ordered for various offence is based on no evidence; either direct or indirect, including that of circumstantial. 2. Learned advocate Mr. Asim Pandya for Mr. Shirish Patel, learned advocate appearing for the applicant has taken us to almost entire relevant evidence; including the testimonies of prosecution witnesses, nature of identification parade in which P.W.15 was shown the photograph of the accused before the identification parade could commence and other P.W.s who had in fact not seen the accused escaping from the house of the deceased and in absence of any description of the accused immediately after commission of the crime and evidence of hotel owner in which it is alleged that accused had stayed together as a part of execution of conspiracy for commission of crime and the fact remains that offence under Section 376 even as per learned trial Judge, prosecution had failed to establish the case implicating present accused in the crime when he was offender under Arms Act for having possession of pistol without license, conviction secured by the prosecution based on virtually no evidence and that applicant is in jail since 19.7.2013, sentence be suspended and regular bail be granted. 3. Per contra, Ms. Moxa Thakker, learned APP contended that prosecution has successfully secured conviction and sentence for heinous crime committed by the applicant and he has imposed imprisonment for life for Sections 302, 450, 397, 201, 34 and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code, for which, prosecution has brought out on record testimonies of witnesses who immediately after commission of crime heard the noise and even description of the accused later on running away in four wheeler etc. was part of the record. That daughter namely, Jayshree Pradeepbhai Davda P.W.17 of the deceased who immediately entered into house after the crime was committed by the accused had seen from balcony that a person wearing a white T-shirt and black pant was running away and Devben then residing below the floor had told her that the person has escaped from the window of the house. Likewise, P.W.18 Ashokbhai Hirjibhai Taili also described person wearing the same colour clothes having black colour of bag in his hand and that employee of the hotel at reception P.W.20 in whose hotel the accused had stayed on the day of commission of the crime. According to learned APP testimonies of the Dipesh who identified the accused, for which, Executive Magistrate has confirmed the procedure, the identification parade followed was free from any lacunae and, therefore, prayer for suspension of sentence and regular bail during pendency of appeal deserves to be rejected. 4. Having heard learned advocate for the applicant and learned APP, we deem it just and proper not to report the facts in detail, since this Court had already considered the bail application of co-accused Shayamsinh Harendrasingh Jat in Criminal Misc. Application No. 11659 of 2016. 5. Thus, on perusal of the entire record of the case, we are inclined to pass similar order of suspension of sentence and enlarging the applicant herein on bail, as prima facie, we find that the case of the present applicant-convict is at par with that of co-accused Shayamsinh Harendrasingh Jat. 6. Resultantly, the present application is allowed. Applicant is hereby ordered to be enlarged on bail, on his furnishing a solvent surety of Rs. 10,000/- (Rupees Ten thousand) and a personal bond of the like amount on usual terms and on the following further conditions:- (1) The applicant shall not take undue advantage of his liberty or abuse his liberty. (2) The applicant shall not to try to tamper with the evidence or pressurize the prosecution witnesses or complainant in any manner. (3) maintain law and order. (4) surrender his passport, if any, to the lower Court, within a week. 7. In the meanwhile, the substantive sentence shall remain under suspension. Bail bond before the Trial Court. Rule is made absolute. Direct service is permitted. 8. The observation made herein above shall have no bearing on the case at the stage of final hearing.