1 appa17111 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION CRIMINAL APPLICATION NO. 171 OF 2011 IN CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 442 OF 2006 Shankarlal Gangadhar Gupta & Ors. ...Applicants V/s. The State of Maharashtra ...Respondent Mr. Nitin Pradhan i/by Ms. S.D. Khot and Ms. Ameeta Kuttikrishnan for the Applicants Mr. H.J. Dedhia, A.P.P., for the State. CORAM: A.M. KHANWILKAR AND A.R. JOSHI, JJ. DATE: 11TH FEBRUARY, 2011 P.C.:- This is third application for bail. 2. The applicants have been convicted for offence punishable under Section 302 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code. The finding recorded by the Court below is that the incident in question was pre-meditated. The applicants have already undergone over eleven years 2 appa17111 of actual sentence period, since they are in jail from January, 2001. That fact is not disputed before us. Applicant No.3 was released on parole for medical reasons for short duration, and he complied with the conditions specified by the authorities for such release. The applicants do not have any other antecedents. The appeal preferred by the applicants has already been admitted, which pre-supposes that arguable case has been made out by them. The appeal pertains to year 2006. Presently, appeal pertaining to year 2002 are being taken up for hearing, being the oldest appeal in respect of category of "Convicts in Jail". The possibility of appeal preferred by the applicants being heard in the near future is remote. As aforesaid, the applicants have already undergone more than eleven years of actual sentence period. If the applicants' proposal for premature release were to be considered by the Authority as per the prevailing Guidelines, the applicants would be entitled for premature release on completion of 22 years of sentence, including remission period. As the applicants have substantially undergone sentence which, considering the remission period, far exceeds the 50% of the sentence period, and as it is unlikely that their appeal would be taken up for hearing in the near future, since older appeals are still waiting in queue, keeping in mind the observations of the Hon'ble Apex Court in Akhtari Bi v. State of M.P., reported in (2001) 4 SCC 355, in particular paragraph 3 appa17111 5 thereof, the applicants deserve to be enlarged on bail on the following conditions:- (a) The applicants shall be released on bail on furnishing bonds in the sum of Rs.25,000/- each with one or two sureties in the like amount. (b) The applicants shall report to the nearest local police station of their residences once in a month on the first Monday of every English Calendar month between 9.30 a.m. to 10.30 a.m. (c) The applicants shall furnish their latest residential addresses and/or change of residence, if any, from time to time, to the local police station and shall not travel outside Mumbai without prior intimation of 48 hours in writing to the local police station and also disclose their travel programme and the contact places where they would visit. 6. Application disposed of on the above terms. A.R. JOSHI, J. A.M. KHANWILKAR, J.