Queency Jain –
Upholding the decision of a Trial Court, Additional Session Judge Swati Sehgal stated that directions of the High Powered Committee of the Punjab & Haryana High Court, relating to release of undertrial prisoners, are not mandatory in nature.
Sehgal, by denying the bail application of an accused Arshad, has stated that the direction of release is completely at the discretion of the Court concerned thereby keeping the severity of the crime in mind.
Arshad is accused of cheating by the way of impersonation and inducing to disclose the Credit card numbers, OTP’s, etc. thereby causing a financial loss amounting to Rs. 4 lakh to the complaint.
While Arshad filed a bail application for 90 days before the Trial Court, the same was rejected by the Magistrate on the ground that his crime was punishable for more than 7 years of imprisonment. Arshad then filed a review petition in the Sessions Court.
Though the counsel on behalf of Arshad argued that there was no mention in the FIR that the crime committed was punishable for more than 7 years, the contention was rejected by the Sessions Court.
The Session Court while reading the opening lines of the direction given by the High Powered Committee upheld the decision of the Trial Court thereby rejecting the review bail application of the accused stating that since cumulative sentences in the provisions of his crime provide with imprisonment of more than 7 years, the accused cannot be granted bail.
The Sessions Court further stated that there was no illegality in the decision of the Trial Court as the crimes committed by the accused comes in the ambit of white-collar crime wherein he calculated the crime very well.