The Delhi High Court has granted regular bail to two accused in the 2024 murder-cum-robbery case concerning the death of Dr. Yogesh Chander Paul at his Jangpura Extension residence. Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav noted that both had spent over two years in custody and had no criminal antecedents.
The Court noted that both applicants had undergone more than two years of incarceration and had no criminal antecedents. It further observed that neither applicant was present at the time of the incident and that their alleged involvement was sought to be established through circumstantial evidence. In the case of one applicant, the Court noted that although he was allegedly seen in CCTV footage on May 5, 2024, the FSL report of the CCTV footage was still awaited, while the other applicant was not shown to be present at the time of the incident and there were no CDRs connecting her with the other accused.
Applying the principles laid down in Sharad Birdhichand Sarda v. State of Maharashtra, (1984) 4 SCC 116; Dataram Singh v. State of U.P., (2018) 3 SCC 22; and Union of India v. K.A. Najeeb, (2021) 3 SCC 713, Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav noted that the trial was at the stage of prosecution evidence, with only one of 46 prosecution witnesses examined, and was therefore unlikely to conclude in the near future. The Court also found no material to attribute the delay to the applicants.
The Court ultimately held that, bearing in mind the long incarceration of more than 2 years and the fact that the offence was circumstantial in nature, the applicants were entitled to regular bail. The two applicants were accordingly directed to be released on regular bail on terms and conditions imposed by the trial court.
