Abdul Khalik vs State Of Himachal Pradesh

Headnote AI-drafted · Reviewed and approved

The petitioner sought regular bail in connection with FIR No. 46/2024 dated 10.04.2024, registered at Police Station Puruwala, District Sirmaur, for offences punishable under Sections 307, 452, 147, 148 and 149 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 25 of the Arms Act. The petitioner contended that he was falsely implicated, that no injury was caused to any person, that no MLC was issued, and that two co-accused had already been granted bail by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Paonta Sahib, entitling him to parity. A prior bail petition bearing Cr.MP(M) No. 1714 of 2024 had been dismissed by the High Court on 18.09.2024.

The State opposed the petition through a status report disclosing that the petitioner, along with other accused, had participated in an armed attack on the informant's house on 10.04.2024, that the petitioner had made a disclosure statement under Section 27 of the Indian Evidence Act leading to recovery of a concealed pistol, and that the FSL report confirmed the firearm fell within the purview of the Arms Act with firearm discharge residues detected in the barrel. The petitioner was stated to be a member of a gang led by Gurvinder @ Vinder and had a prior criminal antecedent in FIR No. 94/2023.

The Court considered the parameters for granting bail as laid down by the Supreme Court in Ajwar v. Waseem (2024) 10 SCC 768 and Ramratan v. State of M.P., 2024 SCC OnLine SC 3068, including the nature and gravity of the offence, the role of the accused, criminal antecedents, likelihood of witness tampering and repetition of the offence. The judgment text as reproduced is incomplete and does not record a final operative order.

Catchwords: bail · regular bail · attempt to murder · unlawful assembly · Arms Act · disclosure statement · recovery of pistol · parity · witness tampering · criminal antecedents · parameters for bail