Right To Speedy Trial Not A 'Free Pass' For Undertrial To Be Released On Bail: Delhi High Court Denies Bail To Neeraj Bawana In Murder Case

The Delhi High Court has ruled that the right to speedy trial derived from Article 21 of the Constitution of India is not a “free-pass” for every undertrial, demanding to be enlarged on bail regardless of the criminal antecedents and the nature of the offence.Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani said that where there are grave criminal antecedents, the larger interests of society must prevail over the individual rights of an undertrial."To reiterate, in the present case, bail is not being denied so as to inflict pre-trial punishment upon the petitioner, but in view of the petitioner‟s grave criminal antecedents and demonstrable recidivistic tendencies, as discussed above. It may be said that the right to speedy trial derived from Article 21 of the Constitution of India is not a "freepass‟ for every undertrial, demanding that he be enlarged on bail regardless of his criminal antecedents and the nature of the offence. In matters such as this, the larger interests of society must prevail over the individual rights of an undertrial," it said, The Court dismissed the bail plea of gangster Neeraj Sehrawat alias Neeraj Bawaniya also known as Neeraj Bawana in a 2015 FIR accusing him of murdering two jail inmates while travelling in a jail van. This according to the FIR was done by Bawaniya along with other inmates who were in the van by wrapping “gamchas” around the necks of the victims and hauling them across the floor. The allegations were denied by Bawaniya by contending that the case against him was inconceivable since prisoners are not allowed to carry towels, gamchas, belts, or ropes, etc. in a jail van and therefore the allegation that the two victims were killed by strangulation using gamchas was wholly untenable.Dismissing the bail plea, the Court noted that Bawaniya had committed heinous offences while he was on bail in other cases and that he was convicted in the offences committed while on bail. “When there is a long list of serious criminal involvements, including convictions for offences committed while on bail in other cases, the apprehension that the petitioner suffers from recidivism cannot be dismissed as imaginary. In that view of the matter, the petitioner‟s submission that he has served sentence for those crimes offers scant comfort to the court that no one else will be harmed by the petitioner if he is enlarged on bail this time,” it said. Furthermore, it was observed that it would be naïve of the court to take an “unidimensional view” of the matter focusing only on Bawaniya's right to a speedy trial, while ignoring other extremely germane factors and considerations and to grant regular bail to him based only on the period of custody undergone as an undertrial in the present case. Justice Bhambhani concluded that bail was not being denied to Bawaniya so as to inflict pre-trial punishment upon him but in view of his “grave criminal antecedents and demonstrable recidivistic tendencies.”Counsel for Petitioner: Mr. N. Hariharan, Sr. Advocate with Mr. Siddharth S. Yadav, Mr. Gagan Bhatnagar, Mr. Rahul Yadav, Mr. Ayush Kumar Singh, Ms. Kashish Ahuja, Ms. Sneha Bakshi Ram, Mr. Arjan Singh Mandla, Ms. Sana Singh, Ms. Punya Rekha Angagar, Mr. Rahul and Mr. Tushar, AdvocatesCounsel for Respondent: Ms. Rupali Bandhopadhya, ASC for the State with Mr. Abhijeet Kumar, AdvocateTitle: NEERAJ SEHRAWAT @ NEERAJ BAWANIYA v. STATE NCT OF DELHICitation: 2025 LiveLaw (Del) 40Click here to read order

Right To Speedy Trial Not A 'Free Pass' For Undertrial To Be Released On Bail: Delhi High Court Denies Bail To Neeraj Bawana In Murder Case

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Right To Speedy Trial Not A 'Free Pass' For Undertrial To Be Released On Bail: Delhi High Court Denies Bail To Neeraj Bawana In Murder Case

Nupur Thapliyal

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