Debangana Ray
Published on July 13, 2022 at 17:48 IST
The Aurangabad Bench of Bombay High Court has said that the condition of “police attendance” imposed by the court on an accused is not a mere formality and must be used by the police for proper investigation.
Justice S. G. Mehare gave the aforementioned opinion, while allowing the anticipatory bail application in a case of criminal intimidation and hurt by dangerous weapons.
The court held that, “Granting the attendance is not for the purpose of mere attendance. It is an opportunity to the Investigation Officer to make investigation in pursuance of the allegations made against the accused.”
The complainant has alleged that the accused entered his shop forcibly and assaulted him and other persons with a stick. A case under Sections 323, 324, 294, 452, 143, 147, 148, 149, and 506 of the Indian Penal Code was registered.
The applicant Sayed Ali sought anticipatory bail in a plea filed through advocate Wajeed Shaikh.
The applicants submitted that they have strictly adhered to the condition imposed by the court for interim relief and have been present before the police station on the designated days and time.
However, the police never asked for the weapon of assault and was satisfied with the investigation.
In fact, the other co-accused have been arrested and the sticks used in the crime have been recovered from them. Hence, custodial interrogation is unnecessary.
The assistant public prosecutor argued that the applicants committed a serious offence and custodial interrogation is required to recover the sticks used in the attack.
The court noted that there is no reason why the recovery of weapon was not done when the applicants attended the police station.
Thus, it held that the prosecution has lost the opportunity to conduct a proper investigation.
The court allowed the application and confirmed the interim relief. The condition for bail was modified and the applicants were directed to attend the police station as and when called by the investigation officer with written notice.
