The Punjab and Haryana High Court has rejected the condition of Rs 1.10 crore for granting default bail to the accused in a case related to tax fraud, terming it unreasonable.
The court said that this case reflects the failure of the criminal justice system. The bench said that the accused has been in jail for the last 4 years, 1 month and 20 days, while the maximum punishment for the crime is 5 years.
The court ordered the release of the accused on a bail amount of Rs 50,000 and said that in this case not only the accused was entitled to default bail, but he should also have been released under Section 479 of the BNSS. The court directed to place the matter before the Chief Justice, so that appropriate action could be taken.
Was arrested from Ludhiana
Accused Pawan Kumar was arrested in Ludhiana in 2021, but the prosecution failed to complete the investigation and file a charge sheet within the legal period of 60 days. The accused then applied for default bail under Section 167(2) of the CrPC, which was granted on 15 March 2021. However, conditions of a sum of Rs 1.10 crore and a bank guarantee of Rs 55 lakh were put for bail. The accused could not fulfill the condition and remained in jail for 4 years.
Question on inaction of District Legal Services Authority
The court also questioned the inaction of the District Legal Services Authority and said that it did not help in the release of the accused. The court said that the charges have not been framed against the accused till now and he is being punished without a hearing. The court said that the basic concept of justice has been violated in this case.
The court also said that it was the responsibility of the jail superintendent to inform the court about the bail eligibility of the accused under Section 479(3), but this was not done, due to which the illegal detention of the accused continued. The High Court accepted the plea of the accused and ordered his release on bail on a bond of Rs 50,000.
