HC sets aside ₹100-crore bond condition for bail

The condition of bail should not be such which defeats the very meaning of bail. Else, might as well decline the bail instead of giving an illusory one.

JUSTICE ARUN MONGA

CHANDIGARH: The Punjab and Haryana high court has set aside a bail bond condition of ₹100 crore imposed by a Faridabad court on a developer in a cheating case.

The high court bench of justice Arun Monga termed the condition “unjust and unfair” and observed that the condition of bail should not be such which defeats the very meaning of bail. “Else, might as well decline the bail instead of giving an illusory one,” the bench observed.

The court was hearing a bail plea of the promoter of SRS Group, Anil Jindal booked under Haryana Protection of Interest of Depositors in Financial Establishment Act, 2013 in March 2018 by Faridabad police in a cheating case of ₹2 lakh.

Jindal was granted bail on March 27, but imposed with a condition of submitting security of ₹100 crore.

He had told the court that he was behind bars since April 2018—more than 26 months. Were he to be held guilty posttrial, he already has undergone pre-trial custody equivalent to more than half (about 2/3rd) of the minimum sentence (36 months) against the offences he is suspected of. And in the appeal, he would have secured bail, but here he is in preventive custody.

It was stated FIR is a result of the overall recession in the real estate sector.

However, the state had argued that the amount of ₹100 crore security was justified as he had cheated a large number of people by collecting funds for about 300 companies. Further, there are 67 FIRS against him and his partners in 916 complaints and conditions have been imposed in view of these FIRS.

The court, however, made it clear that this order pertains to one FIR only and he will have to apply for bail in other FIRS separately.