Gujarat HC Grants Bail To Nepali Citizen Who Allegedly Forged Indian Passport By Using Forged ID Proof & Documents
The Gujarat High Court has granted bail to a Nepali citizen who allegedly forged an Indian passport by using forged IDs and documents.
The Court allowed the bail application filed under Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS) of the applicant who was implicated for offences punishable under Sections 406, 465, 467, 468 and 471 of the IPC and Section 12(2) of the Passport Act, 1967 (the Act). The Court noted that the applicant had been behind bars since June 2024.
A Single Bench of Justice Hasmukh D. Suthar observed, “In the facts and circumstances of the case and considering the nature of the allegations made against the applicant in the FIR, without discussing the evidence in detail, prima facie, this Court is of the opinion that this is a fit case to exercise the discretion and enlarge the applicant on regular bail. Hence, the present application is allowed. The applicant is ordered to be released on regular bail.”
Advocate Kartiksinh H Champavat appeared for the applicant, while APP Vinay Vishen represented the respondent.
The applicant submitted that he was innocent and was falsely implicated on allegations that he forged an Indian Passport and by using forged ID proof and other documents.
The State opposed the bail application and submitted that the applicant had committed a serious offence. Hence, the State requested to dismiss the application for regular bail looking to the nature and gravity of the offence.
While granting bail, the High Court pointed out that it needs to consider the involvement of the accused in the alleged offence, the jurisdiction to grant bail has to be exercised on the basis of the well settled principles having regard to the facts and circumstances of each case.
The Bench stated that a court needs to consider the nature of the accusation and the severity of the punishment relied upon by the prosecution along with “reasonable possibility of securing the presence of the accused at the time of trial or the likelihood of his abscondence.”
The Court noted that the investigation in the case was over and charge-sheet had been filed. Similarly, there were no criminal antecedents reported against the applicant.
“The allegations against the present applicant is that he is Nepali Citizen and has forged Indian Passport and by using forged ID proof and other documents in the name of one Surajsingh Deviraj…Considering the fact that though the applicant is Nepali Citizen and he was earning his livelihood in New Delhi and Panipat, Haryana since last six years.” the Bench noted.
“Obviously, the conclusion of trial will take time as permission under the Passport Act is yet to be received and keeping the accused behind the bars is nothing but amounts to pre-trial conviction and therefore, considering the celebrated principle of bail jurisprudence is that “bail is a rule and jail is exception” as well as the concept of personal liberty guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India, present application deserves consideration,” the Court remarked.
Accordingly, the High Court allowed the bail application.
Cause Title: Jagat Bahadur Deviram Aitaram Dalami v. State Of Gujarat (Neutral Citation: 2024:GUJHC:59523)
Appearance:
Applicant: Advocate Kartiksinh H Champavat and Lakshit V Patel
Respondent: APP Vinay Vishen