Delhi HC junks bail plea of Neeraj Bawania in double murder case
Delhi HC junks bail plea of Neeraj Bawania in double murder case
New Delhi, The Delhi High Court on Wednesday refused to grant bail to gangster Neeraj Bawania in a case over murder of two prisoners while being ferried in a jail van in 2015.

Dismissing the gangster's bail plea, Justice Anup J Bhambhani said the present instance was a case of "exceptional brazenness, audacity and depravity" as it was committed within the small and closely guarded confines of a jail van.
"For reasons which are very hard to fathom, the armed guards in the jail van were unable to prevent the murders. What these circumstances betray is not just the horror of a double murder committed under the watch of armed police guards, but also unashamed brazenness and menacing brutality on the part of the perpetrators of the crime," said the court in the judgement.
The judge further junked Bawania's ground of delay in trial and said Article 21 of the Constitution was not a "freepass" to demand bail regardless of criminal antecedents and the nature of the offence.
The court nonetheless urged the trial court to conclude the trial in the present case without any further delay.
The prosecution alleged while travelling in a jail van from the Rohini Court lock-up to Tihar Jail in 2015, Bawania attacked the two deceased by bringing them down on the floor of the vehicles and then strangulating them with "gamchas".
"Such perverse fearlessness of the perpetrators makes this court wonder whether it would be safe to release the petitioner from custody and set him at-large in society, trusting that he would not commit any other grievous offence," added the court.
While seeking bail, the accused contended he had suffered incarceration of over nine years as an undertrial and it was not clear when the trial would conclude.
The court acknowledged the right of an accused to a speedy trial under Article 21 of the Constitution but observed mere delay was not sufficient and other factors also had to be considered before releasing an accused on bail.
"The petitioner is stated to be the head of the dreaded 'Neeraj Bawania Gang', and therefore, regardless of how long he may have been in jail in the present case, this court is not persuaded to accept that if enlarged on bail, the petitioner would not indulge in criminality again and would not be a threat to the society at large," it said.
The fundamental right to liberty, the court said, must be balanced against the interests of the society as even constitutional rights are not absolute, especially when the accused has committed heinous offences while being on bail in other cases.
The court noted the petitioner had a long list of involvements in serious offences, including those punishable with imprisonment for life or death.
"Bail is not being denied so as to inflict pre-trial punishment upon the petitioner, but in view of the petitioner's grave criminal antecedents and demonstrable recidivistic tendencies, as discussed above. It may be said the right to speedy trial derived from Article 21 of the Constitution of India is not a 'freepass' for every undertrial, demanding that he be enlarged on bail regardless of his criminal antecedents and the nature of the offence," the order said.
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