Bombay HC grants bail to murder accused in jail for 9 years

Kounder sought bail filing an application from jail and lawyers Gunjan Mangla and Sia Chaudhary, were appointed through legal aid.

They argued that trials are taking a long time to conclude and some prisons where undertrials  are kept are simultaneously overcrowded.

“This court regularly deals with bail applications of undertrials who have been in custody for long period and is also equally aware of the conditions of our prisons. To give an example in the city of Mumbai, recently in one of the cases before me, a report dated  12.12.2024 made by the Superintendent of Mumbai Central Prison addressed to the Chief Government Pleader was placed before me by the Public Prosecutor which stated that the Mumbai Central Prison (Arthur Road Jail) is overcrowded beyond its sanctioned capacity by  more than 5–6 times and every barrack sanctioned to house 50 inmates as on date houses anywhere between 220 – 250 inmates. Such an incongruity leads us to answer the proposition: ‘How can Courts  find a balance between the two polarities?’,” Justice Milind N Jadhav said in the order granting Kounder bail on April 8.

The order was made available this week.

The court also considered that if all the witnesses are not examined, it would take time to conclude the trial. The court considered various judgments of the Supreme Court including cases where long incarceration has been considered as ground to grant bail. The court said that in previous cases. it has been observed that “where there is unreasonable delay in trial it would undoubtedly impact the rights of an undertrial”. The court set various conditions for Kounder’s bail.

According to the prosecution, in 2016, Kounder had attacked his brother with a weapon after a quarrel between them over suspicion of an extramarital affair between the two accused.

Among the witnesses cited in the case is the son of the deceased and his wife who was eight yeas old  then.