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The Uttar Pradesh government has filed a plea before the Supreme Court against the Allahabad High Court order granting bail on the ground of apprehension of death on account of the Covid-19 pandemic.
On May 10, the Allahabad High Court passed an order observing that apprehension of death on account of reasons like the present pandemic is a valid ground for grant of anticipatory bail. The order was passed by Justice Siddharth while hearing an anticipatory bail application of one Prateek Jain, who was accused of cheating along with other co-accused who are directors of a builder company. Jain argued that he was only related to the other co-accused and was falsely implicated in the case.
While considering the bail application, the court had observed thus, “The established parameters for grant of anticipatory bail like the nature and gravity of accusation, the criminal antecedent of the applicant, the possibility of fleeing from justice and whether accusation has been made for injuring and humiliating the applicant by getting him arrested have now lost significance on account of present situation of the country and the State on account of spread of second wave of novel corona virus.”
The court further added, “In such uncertain times it would be against the requirement of Article 14 of the constitution of India, which provides equality before law and equal protection of law, to leave an accused unprotected from arrest and suffer the consequences of being infected with novel corona virus”.
While mentioning the matter before a bench of Justices Vineet Saran and BR Gavai Solicitor General Tushar Mehta submitted that the accused was a conman and had been granted anticipatory bail solely on the basis of Covid-19.
The Allahabad High Court order may be read here:
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