Highly Premature, Ought To Have Waited For Deposition Of Vulnerable Witnesses: Apex Court Sets Aside Bail Granted To Murder Accused Within 3 Months

The Supreme Court has revoked the bail granted by the Patna High Court to a man accused of committing murder with the assistance of his lover, just three months after his arrest.

The Bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan ruled that the High Court's decision to grant bail was premature and should have awaited the deposition of vulnerable witnesses.

"The grant of bail by the High Court is highly premature," the Bench said in its August 20 order, directing the accused, Pritesh Kumar, to surrender within two weeks.

The Court also noted the state government's commitment to ensuring that key witnesses would be produced before the trial court on the next two hearing dates. "Learned State counsel undertakes to produce the private witnesses Nos.1 to 5 on the next two consecutive dates to be fixed by the Trial Court. In view of this, the Trial Court is directed to list the trial and record their statements within four months," the Court noted in its order dated August 20.

The Court further stated that after the witness depositions, Pritesh Kumar could apply for bail again. "After their depositions, respondent No.1 shall be at liberty to apply for bail afresh. Such an application shall be considered as per its own merits, without being influenced by the observations made hereinabove," the Bench said.

The case stems from an FIR filed in Sheohar district on October 27, 2023, by Vibhuti Kumar Singh. The complaint accused Pritesh Kumar of being involved in the murder of Singh's cousin, Chandan Kumar Singh. According to the prosecution, Chandan's wife, allegedly in an extramarital relationship with Pritesh, conspired with him to kill her husband. On the day of the murder, Pritesh and the woman allegedly hid in the bedroom and attacked Chandan with a knife, inflicting fatal wounds.

Pritesh was reportedly seen fleeing the scene half-naked and was arrested on December 4, 2023, after evading authorities. Despite these serious allegations, the Patna High Court had granted him bail on March 14, citing his period of custody and the circumstances of the case.

Cause Title: Vibhuti Kumar Singh v. Pritesh Kumar & Anr. [Special Leave to Appeal (Crl.) No. 5719/2024]

Appearance:-

Petitioner: Senior Advocate Ratnakar Dash, Shashank Shekhar Singh (AOR), Abhinav Singh

Respondent: Advocates Vanya Gupta (AOR), Vipin Kumar Bharti, Abhinav Chauhan, Gaurav Choudhary, Akash Chaudhary, Madhu Yadav, Zakir Rehman, Anshul Narayan, Prem Prakash (AOR)

Click here to read/download the Order