'Clear Case Of Forum Shopping': Delhi High Court Denies Bail To Murder Accused Who Concealed Earlier Bail Rejections
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday denied bail to a murder accused after finding that he had concealed the fact that his earlier bail applications had been rejected by another bench and sought transfer of the fresh bail plea to a different bench.
Justice Girish Kathpalia termed the conduct a “clear case of forum shopping” and said that such conduct on the part of the accused had to be deprecated.
The Court was hearing a bail application filed by one Parvesh Mann in connection with an FIR registered at Narela Industrial Area Police Station for the offences under Sections 302, 34 and 120B of the Indian Penal Code and Sections 25 and 27 of the Arms Act.
Mann's regular bail plea had earlier been listed before Justice Saurabh Banerjee on September 10. On that occasion, the accused's counsel sought that the matter be placed before Justice Kathpalia on the ground that a revision petition was pending before him. The plea was accordingly listed before Justice Kathpalia.
When the matter came up before Justice Kathpalia, the Delhi Police informed the Court that Mann had previously filed three bail applications- one regular bail and two interim bails, all of which had been dismissed by Justice Banerjee.
The State submitted that it appeared that the bench had been misled into transferring the fresh bail application.
Mann's counsel, on the other hand, responded that the applications dismissed by Justice Banerjee were only interim bail applications. However, the Court noted that even this fact had not been disclosed to Justice Banerjee while seeking transfer of the matter.
At this stage, a law researcher of the Court produced an order dated October 17, 2023, in an earlier bail application filed by the accused. Justice Kathpalia noted that the said application was for regular bail, and had been dismissed by Justice Banerjee.
The Court observed that the accused had been refused regular bail once and interim bail twice by the same bench. It found that the said facts had been concealed while seeking transfer of the present bail application to Justice Kathpalia's bench.
”It seems that having realized that from the bench of HMJ Saurabh Banerjee, bail had been declined once in regular bail application and twice in interim bail application, learned counsel concealed all those facts and made a request before HMJ Saurabh Banerjee in the present bail application for transfer of the application to this bench,” the Court said.
“Such conduct on the part of the accused/applicant has to be deprecated. It is a clear case of forum shopping,” it said.
The bail application was accordingly dismissed.
Title: PARVESH MANN @ SAGAR v. STATE (NCT OF DELHI)