In Brief
This judgment concerns a third bail application under Section 439 CrPC filed by a 79-year-old accused detained for over three years. Although the petitioner argued that prosecution evidence had closed and his age warranted bail, the Court found the trial had been deliberately prolonged through excessive cross-examination (one witness recalled 104 times) and marred by violence against prosecution witnesses, including two murders. Critically, the bail petition relied upon an RTI reply from the Jail Superintendent dated 8.11.2016, which the petitioner's own counsel later admitted was unreliable and likely fictitious. The Court dismissed the petition with exemplary costs of Rs. 1,00,000 and directed registration of an FIR against all concerned parties for placing the spurious document on record.
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