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Girraj v. Kiranpal and Anr. Etc.

Criminal Appeal · 2021 INSC 161Decided 8 Mar 2021
Criminal Appeal Nos. 286-290 of 2021
Dr. Justice D.Y. Chandrachud · Justice M.R. Shah

Background

The appellant's two sons, Gajendra and Akash, were shot dead in an ambush allegedly carried out by eight accused persons over a political/personal enmity in Gautam Budh Nagar, UP, in November 2019. The Allahabad High Court granted bail to five of the accused (Kiranpal, Sundar, Rakesh, Satish and Dharmendra), largely on the ground of parity with a co-accused, Narendra, who had earlier been granted bail. The complainant-father appealed to the Supreme Court against these bail grants.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court noted that it had already cancelled Narendra's bail in an earlier order (11 December 2020), which removed the very foundation, parity with Narendra, on which the High Court had granted bail to the five respondents. Given the seriousness of the offence (two deaths and serious injuries to others) and that the High Court's bail orders rested solely on that now-invalidated parity ground, the Court allowed the appeals, cancelled the bail of all five accused, and directed them to surrender; however, in fairness, it granted them liberty to apply afresh for bail before the High Court on the merits once they surrendered.

Lesson Learnt

Bail granted purely on "parity" with a co-accused is fragile: if the co-accused's bail is later cancelled, the parity-based bail can itself be cancelled, even though the accused retain the right to seek bail again on independent merits.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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