Team Herald
PANJIM: The High Court of Bombay at Goa has pulled up the additional sessions judge at Ponda for an ‘erroneous’ order to a bail application of an alleged rape accused, due to which he remained in jail although the interim relief was granted to him two years ago.
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Raksh Gaunder, currently in the judicial custody at Colvale Central Jail, approached the High Court seeking relief as the Additional Session Judge did not grant him opportunity to furnish a new surety and took his custody. The accused, presented by Advocate K Raikar submitted that on being granted bail on October 19, 2018; he appeared before the court on various dates until his counsel under Free Legal Aid withdrew his appearance.
As the applicant was not well versed with the court proceeding, he lost the track of the case and was not able to attend the hearing of the case on two dates in 2019. His surety informed Gaunder that a warrant is issued against him and as such Gaunder voluntarily appeared before the Additional Sessions Court at Ponda along with his surety on July 3, 2019 but on the same day the surety withdrew. Accordingly he was remanded to judicial custody in what the applicant said was without giving him an opportunity to produce new surety.
The High Court observed the Additional Sessions Judge while remanding the accused to judicial custody had not taken into account Section 444 of CRPC and thereby failed to adopt proper procedure after discharge of surety. “After discharge it is duty of the Court to call upon such person to find other sufficient surety and if he fails to do so may commit him in jail. In the present matter, no such opportunity was granted to the accused to furnish substitute surety specifically when one surety was very much standing for him,” the Bench of Justice M S Jawalkar said while directing the Additional Sessions Judge to allow the accused produce new surety based on the bail order of the year 2018.
It also appeared that the accused appeared voluntarily and explained his reasons, in such circumstances the learned Additional Sessions Judge may not have observed that ‘abscond are quite possible’. As such the order passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge in Sessions Case No.24 of 2017 dated March 31, 2021 is patently illegal, erroneous and without application of mind, hence, liable to be quashed and set aside.”
“Due to non-application of mind the applicant/accused was unnecessarily in jail since July, 2019 till his release on interim bail by this Court on July 7, 2021, that is, for around two years.”
