The Allahabad High Court on Wednesday granted bail to the 2-men who had allegedly fired shots at Lok Sabha Member of Parliament (MP) and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) Chief Asaduddin Owaisi’s vehicle during the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections of 2022.
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UP: The Allahabad High Court granted bail to 2-individuals accused of firing shots at the vehicle of Lok Sabha Member of Parliament (MP) and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) Chief Asaduddin Owaisi during the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections of 2022.
Justice Pankaj Bhatia, presiding over the case, elucidated that the accused- Sachin Sharma and Subham Gurjar, were not initially named in the First Information Report (FIR). Their alleged involvement was primarily inferred by the Investigating Officer after scrutinizing CCTV footage. The court highlighted that in the three statements recorded thus far, the accused’s names had not emerged, and neither the victim nor the occupants of the vehicle recognized them.
“The material of verifying and matching the identity of the persons seen in the CCTV footage with the actual photographs prima-facie appears to be missing from the case diary. Thus, the evidences linking the applicants with the offence in question are prima-facie weak evidences at this stage,”
-stated the Court.
Nevertheless, the Court emphasized that the strength of the evidence would be thoroughly evaluated during the trial, cautioning that premature assessments could detrimentally impact the proceedings. Despite granting bail, the Court acknowledged that the accused had been in custody since February 04, 2022, and had no prior criminal records.
Owaisi’s vehicle came under fire near a toll plaza while he was enroute from Meerut to Delhi on February 3, 2022. Fortunately, he escaped unscathed, but the perpetrators managed to evade capture. An FIR was subsequently lodged under Section 307 (attempt to murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
This isn’t the first instance of the accused seeking bail; they were previously granted bail by the High Court in July 2022. However, the Supreme Court intervened, overturning the bail orders, citing inadequate consideration of the gravity of the offense by the High Court. Consequently, the matter was remanded for a fresh adjudication.
In opposition to the bail plea, the informant and the victim lodged an intervention application before the Court. They contended that one of the accused had exhibited a lack of remorse in a media interview following the 2022 bail grant, even issuing a warning to the victim.
“The prima-facie appears to be in the realm of speech or interview given by applicant no.1 before the telemedia and there being nothing more to suggest that actual threat was issued by the applicant to the victim,”
-observed the Court regarding the interview.
Additionally, it was argued that besides CCTV footage, the presence of the accused had been corroborated through call detail records by the Investigating Officer. After careful consideration, the Court found a prima facie case for bail and ordered the release of the accused.
Click Here to Read Previous Reports on Asaduddin Owaisi
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