Date of Judgement
26th July 2021
Judge
Justice S.S. SHINDE & N.J. JAMADAR, JJ.
Parties
Appellant - Surendra Pundalik Gadling
Respondents - Senior Inspector of Police, National Investigation Agency.
Issues
- Will the case of National Investigation Agency V. Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali be used to oppose bail being sought purely on humanitarian grounds on the death of parents?
Overview
- The appellant is charged with violating Sections 121, 121(A), 124(A), 153(A), 505(1)(B), and 117 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (‘the Penal Code'), as well as Sections 13, 16, 18, 18B, 20, 38, 39, and 40 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 2008 (‘UAPA').
- On June 6, 2018, the appellant was arrested. On the 6th of November 2018, the appellant's bail application was refused.
- The appellant filed an application for temporary release on August 17, 2020, claiming that his mother had died on August 15, 2020, and that he wanted to join his other family members in performing his mother's final rites/rituals.
- On August 28, 2020, the respondent-NIA filed a reply in opposition to the application. The learned Special Judge was persuaded to reject the application for temporary bail by the impugned order, holding, inter alia, that because the appellant's regular bail application had already been denied, the prayer for temporary bail deserved to be denied as well, because the considerations for granting temporary bail and regular bail are the same.
- It was further noted that in light of the interdict contained in Section 43D of the UAPA and the serious nature of the accusation levelled against the appellant, no basis for temporary relief could be made out. The fact that three weeks had passed since the appellant's mother died when the motion for bail was considered was also stacked against him.
Judgement Analysis
- MrSurendra Pundalik Gadling, an undertrial, is ordered to be released on temporary bail from August 13 to August 21, 2021, purely on humanitarian grounds, to attend his deceased mother's last rites/rituals and family condolence gathering, on furnishing a PR bond in the sum of Rs. 50,000/-, with one or two sureties in the same amount, to the satisfaction of the lear.
- The appellant is not permitted to tamper with the prosecution evidence in any way and is not permitted to contact any of the prosecution witnesses for any reason.
- Before the NIA Court, the appellant must submit his passport, if he has one. The hour of the appellant's departure from Nagpur must be reported to the jurisdictional police.
- By 6:00 p.m. on August 21, 2021, the appellant must surrender to the Superintendent of Taloja Prison.
- It is made clear that no request for a bail extension beyond August 21, 2021, would be granted under any circumstances.
Conclusion
The NIA court did not appear to have considered the problem from a humanitarian standpoint, based on a review of the assailed order. In our opinion, the NIA Court erred by transferring the considerations that go into granting conventional bail to a request for release on humanitarian grounds. The respondent-reliance NIA's on the judgement in the case of National Investigation Agency V. Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali, which governs the grant of regular bail, does not appear well-founded in the context of the consideration of the petition for temporary bail to attend the last rites/rituals of the appellant's deceased mother.
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