Reasonable Doubt and Probability of Involvement of the Accused can be Judged at Bail Stage. The Law of Bail is not Stagnant Law, But It is Developing With the Exigencies of Time.
In a recent judgment, the Supreme Court has ruled that the trail court can tentatively assess, at the bail stage, the probability of involvement of an accused in the commission of the crime, whether a reasonable doubt exists in the prosecution case or whether or not reasonable grounds exist to withhold the accused in the custody. In the case in hand, the accused was alleged to have committed a the murder but his name was not mentioned in the FIR, pistol was also not recovered from him and above all there was no eye witness to the incident as well.
The Court drew conclusion that this is a fit case of one of further inquiry as the contents of the FIR and the investigation conducted so far in the case do not connect the involvement of the accused with the case beyond shadow of doubt. The trail court has still to inquire into the matter in hand and observe whether the accused is guilty of commission of the murder or not. At this stage i.e. bail stage, the tentative assessment suggests that reasonable grounds do not exist which necessitate the custody of the accused. The Court further held that reasonable grounds as mentioned in section 497 of Cr.P.C mean that the prosecution is in possession of such material or evidence which connects the accused with commission of the crime. If there is no such material or evidence on record which connects the accused with the commission of the crime, it implies that reasonable grounds do not exist as well. And when reasonable grounds are missing in a case, the accused cannot be connected with the commission of the crime.
The Court at the end enlarged the accused on bail.
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crl.p._1054_2023
