In an application filed before the Delhi High Court seeking anticipatory bail in relation to a First Information Report (FIR) registered for the commission of offences under Sections 109(1) and 3 (5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS), and Section 27 of the Arms Act, 1959, a Single Judge Bench of Justice Girish Kathpalia granted anticipatory bail to the applicant, noting a critical flaw in the investigation.
The applicant raised a pistol on the victim in a scuffle between two groups, and pulled the trigger, firing a shot at point-blank range at the victim’s right knee. The co-accused person in the present matter was granted bail.
The respondent submitted that the injured victim’s MLC done at the first hospital specifically recorded that his right thigh bore two entry wounds but no exit wound. However, upon taking him to another hospital, the presence of an entry wound and an exit wound was recorded.
The Court perused the record of the second hospital and noted that a question mark was mentioned in the same, which only meant that there was a ‘suspected’ entry/exit wound, but that it was not confirmed. The Court stated that it was not possible for the bullet to enter the body and exit from the same side after taking a U-turn inside the body, as there were two wounds on the same side of the body when only one bullet was fired. It was also noted that there was no blackening around the gunshot injury, which is impossible when a bullet is fired at point-blank range.
The Court stated that neither a bullet was retrieved from the victim’s body nor was it found on the spot. Hence, the Court allowed the application and directed that the applicant be released on bail, subject to a personal bond of Rs. 10,000/- with a surety of like amount, in the event of his arrest.
Appearances:
For Petitioner – None
For Respondent – Mr. Hemant Mehla (APP)
