IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA Criminal Miscellaneous No.499 of 2011 Raju Kewat @ Kaliya, son of Ram Prit Kewat, resident of Muhalla Guljarbagh, Dadar Mandi, P.S. Alamganj, Dist. Patna. ------- Petitioner Versus The State of Bihar -------- Opp. Party ----------- 4 07.12.2011 Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and counsel for the State. The prayer for bail of the petitioner was earlier rejected by an order dated 15.12.2009 with an observation that the petitioner could renew his prayer for bail if the trial of the petitioner was not expedited and concluded within a period of nine months. Learned counsel for the petitioner would submit that the petitioner is in custody in connection with the present case with effect from 2.10.2003 and that in a space of more than eight years, the prosecution has not examined even a single witness and, therefore, the end of the trial of the petitioner is nowhere in sight. Counsel for the State has got no answer to the aforementioned submission save and except that he would point out that the petitioner has criminal antecedent and that he is accused in one more criminal case of a equally serious magnitude, if not more 2 serious than this case. This Court, in order to ascertain the current position of the trial, had called for a report from the trial court which had intimated that out of fifteen witnesses named in the charge-sheet, not a single of them has been examined though the charges were framed way back on 20.7.2010. Considering the aforementioned report, the Senior Superintendent of Police, Patna was asked to explain the reason for not producing evidence by the prosecution but he has not submitted the desired report till date. As with regard to the criminal antecedent, a report has been received from the office of the Senior Superintendent of Police, Patna dated 3.9.2011 in which the petitioner is shown to have been made accused in one more case being Alamganj P.S. Case No. 2 of 1996 for offence under Section 386/302/307/324/34 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 3/4 of the Explosive Substance Act. Counsel for the petitioner, however, informs this Court that the petitioner has already been granted bail in the aforesaid 3 case and that the petitioner has got no other criminal case, barring two cases including the present one pending against him. Considering the aforesaid facts and specially that prosecution has completely failed to produce its witnesses even in a span of more than three years ever since the charges were framed against the petitioner and that the total custody period of the petitioner has also exceeded for more than eight years, this Court would direct for release of the petitioner, namely, Raju Kewat @ Kaliya on bail on furnishing bail bond of Rs. 10,000/- (ten thousand) with two sureties of the like amount each to the satisfaction of Additional Sessions Judge, Patnacity at Patna in connection with Alamganj P.S. Case No. 233 of 2003 arising out of S.T. No. 97 of 2005, subject to the following conditions:- (i) The two bail bonds will be furnished, one by the Government servant and the other by a close family relative. (ii) The petitioner will remain present in course of trial on each and every day and his absence even for a single day would automatically entail the consequences 4 of cancellation of his bail. (iii) The petitioner in case is now made accused in any other criminal case, that would itself lead to cancellation of his bail. Subject to the aforementioned conditions, the prayer for bail of the petitioner is allowed. Let a copy of this order be sent to the Senior Superintendent of Police, Patna for doing the needful for completion of the trial expeditiously. Rsh (Mihir Kumar Jha, J.)