Holding

Prolonged incarceration by itself does not warrant bail; bail must be assessed on the overall facts, and in this case the denial of bail was justified.

Summary

Rajesh Ranjan Yadav, a four‑time Member of Parliament, was charged with a triple murder under IPC sections 302, 34 and 120B, and under Section 27 of the Arms Act. After being in judicial custody for more than six years, he repeatedly applied for bail, arguing that continued detention violated his fundamental right to liberty under Article 21. The Supreme Court examined the seriousness of the offences, the fact that the investigation and trial were largely complete, the appellant’s conduct (including alleged misuse of jail facilities), and the need to balance individual liberty against societal interest. It held that prolonged incarceration alone does not create an automatic right to bail and that bail must be decided on the totality of facts. Consequently, the Court dismissed the appeal, refused bail and barred any further bail applications, while directing the trial court to expedite the remaining trial proceedings.

Issues considered

The mere fact of prolonged pre‑trial detention (over six years) entitles an accused to bail under Article 21.
Whether bail should be granted in a serious triple‑murder case where the trial is largely completed.
Whether the accused’s conduct and the risk of witness tampering justify denial of bail.
The relevance of the accused’s status as a Member of Parliament to the bail decision.

Legislation cited

Arms Act, 1959s. 27
Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973s. 164, s. 437(1)(i), s. 439
Constitution of Indias. Article 136, s. Article 21
Indian Penal Code, 1860s. 120B, s. 302, s. 34

Subjects

bailArticle 21right to libertytriple murderIPC 302IPC 34IPC 120BArms Actbalance of societal interesttrial delayconduct of accusedMember of ParliamentSupreme Courtspecial leave petitiondiscretion

Judgment

...'
•
A RAJESH RANJAN YADA V @ PAPPU YADA V
v.
CBI THROUGH ITS DIRECTOR

NOVEMBER 16, 2006

B (S.B. SINHA AND MARKANDEY KA TJU, JJ.]

Bail-Grant of-Considerations for-Held: Mere fact that the accused
has undergone long period of incarceration (six years in this case) would
not entitle him to be enlarged on bail-Court has also to consider other facts "'(
c and circumstances, such as interest of the society-Balance to be struck
between right to individual liberty and interest of society-On facts,
investigation is over; even trial is partly over and allegations against the
accused are serious-Conduct of accused also not proper-In such
circumstances, accused does not deserve bail-Constitution of India, 1950-
D Articles 21 & 136-Penal Code, 1860-ss. 302/34/l 20B rlw S.2 7 of the Arms
Act.

Appellant is an accused under Sections 302/34/120B IPC read with
Section 27 of the Arms Act. His bail application had been rejected earlier on
several occasions by the High Court as well as by this Court.
E
In the present appeal, Appellant contended that since he has been in
jail for more than six years, he should be released on bail. ·He further
submitted that if ultimately he is found innocent by the Trial Court, he would
have undergone a long_ period of incarceration in jail which would be violative
of Article 21 of the Constitution.
F
Dismissing the appeal, the Court

HELD: 1.1. None of the decisions relied upon by the Appellant can be
said to have laid down any absolute and unconditional rule about when bail
should be granted by the Court and when it should not. It all depends on the
G facts and circumstances of each case and it cannot be said there is any
absolute rule that because a long period of imprisonment has expired bail
must necessarily be granted. [45-C-D)

1.2. While it is true that Article 21 is of great importance because it

H 40
}--
,._
- RAJ ESH RANJAN YADA \"@ PAPPU Y ADA\" 1·. CBI THROUGH ITS DIRECTOR 4J

enshrines the fundamental right to individual liberty, but at the same time a A
balance has to be struck between the right to individual liberty and the interest
of society. No right can be absolute, and reasonable restrictions can be placed
on them. While it is true that one of the considerations in deciding whether
to grant bail to an accused or not is whether he has been in jail for a long
time, the Court has also to take into consideration other facts and B
circumstances, such as the interest of the society. [49-H; 50-A-B)

1.3. The fact that the appellant has been a Member of Parliament on
four occasions, is wholly irrelevant. The law is no respecter of persons, and
.... is the same for every one. (50-B]

State of UP. v. Amarmani Tripathi, [2005) 8 SCC 21 and Kalyan
c
Chandra Sarkar v. Rajesh Ranjan@ Pappu Yadav & Anr., (2004) 7 SCC 528,
relied on.

Babu Singh & Ors. v. State of Uttar Pradesh, AIR (1978) SC 527;
Kashmira Singh v. State of Punjab, [1977[ 4 SCC 291; Bhagirathsinh v. State D
a_( Gujarat, (1984] 1 SCC 284; Shaheen Welfare Association v. Union of India
& Ors. (1996) 2 SCC 616; Joginder Kumar v. State of UP. & Ors.. [1994( 4
SCC 260 and Ranjitsing Brahmajeetsing Sharma v. State of Maharashtra &
Anr., (2005) 5 SCC 294, referred to.

2.1. A perusal of the FIR itself shows that it is a triple murder case, E
and the incident was !:ommitted in broad day light with sophisticated weapons.
It is true that the appellant was not named in the FIR, but it has come in the
statement before the Magistrate under Section 164 Cr.P.C. of one Ranjan
Tiwari that he and other assailants had been hired by the appellant to commit
this ghastly crime. [50-C-D]
F
2.2. This Court is not inclined to comment on the veracity or otherwise
of the statement of Ranjan Tiwari and other witnesses as it may influence the
trial, but looking at the allegations against the appellant both in the statement
of Ranjan Tiwari and other witnesses, on the facts and circumstances of the
case, this is certainly not a case for grant of bail to the appellant, particularly G
since the prosecution witnesses have been examined and now the defence
witnesses alone have to be examined. It would be wholly inappropriate to grant
bail when not only the investigation is over but even the trial is partly over,
and the allegations against the appellant are serious. (50-D-EI
3. The conduct of the appellant, as noted by this Court in another case H
&, ~
42 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (2006) SUPP. 9 S.C.R.

A of his where he sought bail, is also such that this Court is not inclined to
exercise its discretion under Article 136 for granting bail to the appellant.

150-Ff
Kalyan Chandra Sarkar v. Rajesh Ranjan@ Pappu Yadav & Anr.,
120051 3 sec 284, referred to.
B
4. The further submission of appellant, that since he is not on bail, he
cannot conduct his defence effectively, cannot be accepted. If this argument is
to be accepted, then logically in every case bail has to be granted. [51-BJ
,..,,
5.1. It is made clear that no further application for bail will be considered
c in this case by any Court, as already a large number of bail applications have
been rejected earlier, both by the High Court and this Court. [51-CJ

5.2. However the Trial Court is directed to ensure that the defence
witnesses are examined on a day-to-day basis in accordance with a fixed time
schedule so that the trial is completed as expeditiously as possible and the
D judgment is delivered soon thereafter. (51-DJ

CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Criminal Appeal No. 1172 of
2006.
•
From the final Judgment and Final Order dated 27-4-2006 of the High
E Court of Judicature at Patna in Criminal Misc. No. 12156 of 2006.

R.K. Jain, Rakesh Kumar Singh, Durgesh Kr. Pandey, Prem Malhotra, J.
John and V. Senthil Kumar for the Appellant.

A. Sharan, A.S.G., P.S. Mishra, Amit Anand Tiwari, P. Parmeswaran and
F Amit Pawan for the Respondent.

The Judgment of the Court was delivered by

MARKANDEY KATJU, J. Leave granted.

G This appeal under Article 136 of the Constitution of India has been filed
against the impugned judgment and order dated 27.42006 of the Patna High
Court by which the appellant's application for bail has been dismissed, but
with the following observations:

"Since the petitioner has actually remained in custody in connection
H with the present case for about 5 years and 7 months as per submission
fl}.,
RAJESH RANJAN YADAV@ PAPPU YADAV "·CBI THROUGH ITS DIRECTOR [MARKANDEY KATJU, J) 43
on behalf of petitioner, hence, considering the spirit of the last order A
of the Apex Court dated 3. 10.05, the trial court is directed to hold trial
at least for about three days in a week on an average so that the
examination of prosecution witnesses may be concluded without any
delay preferably within three months. Thereafter, the court shall ask
the defence to submit the list of its witnesses and make efforts to
conclude the trial expeditiously, preferably within six months. If the B
trial cannot conclude within the aforesaid period of six months from
today, the petitioner would be at liberty to renew his pray for bail.

With this observation, this application for bail is dismissed at this
"'. stage."
c
The appellant is an accused in a case under Sections 302/34/1208 IPC
read with Section 27 of the Arms Act. The appellant's bail application had
been rejected earlier on several occasions by the High Court as well as by
this Court. The last order of this Court dated 3.10.2005 states as under:

"Having heard the learned senior counsel appearing for the petitioner,
D
we are of the opinion that the application for bail may not be entertained
at this stage. The special leave petition is dismissed. However, we
would request the learned Sessions Judge to expedite the trial. lf the
trial is not completed within a period of six months from today, it
would be open to the petitioner to renew the bail application. Learned E
Sessions Judge may consider the desirability of directing the CBI to
examine the important witnesses at an early date and preferably within
a period of four months."

We have been informed that now all the prosecution witnesses have
been examined and cross-examined, and only the defence witnesses have to F
be examined.

Shri R.K. Jain, learned senior counsel appearing for the appellant stated
that 60/70 defence witnesses are proposed to be examined and some more
defence witnesses on behalf of other accused are to be examined. Hence, he
submitted that it would take a long time to examine these witnesses. He G
submitted that the appellant has been in jail for more than six years and hence
he should be released on bail. Learned counsel also submitted that if ultimately
the appellant is found innocent by the trial court, he would have undergone
a long period of incarceration in jail which would be violative of Article 21
of the Constitution. H
44 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2006) SUPP. 9 S.C.R. ..
A The appellant is a 4th term Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha) and
learned counsel for the appellant has submitted that as per the material on
record there appears to be no primafacie evidence that the appellant is guilty
of the charges of offence.

Learned counsel for the appellant relied on the decision of this Coui1
B in Babu Singh & Ors v. State of Uttar Pradesh AIR (1978) SC 527. In
paragraph 8 of the said judgment it was observed as under:

"Personal liberty, deprived when bail is refused, is too precious
a value of our constitutional system recognized under Art. 21 that the
crucial power to negate it is a great trust exercisable, not casually but
c judicially, with lively concern for the cost to the individual and
community. To glamorize impressionistic orders as discretionary may,
on occasions, make a litigative gamble decisive of a fundamental right.
After all, personal liberty of an accused or convict is fundamental,
suffering lawful eclipse only in terms of procedure established by
D 'law'. The last four words of Art. 21 are the life of that human right."

Learned counsel for the appellant then relied on the decision of this
Court in Kashmira Singh v. State of Punjab (1977] 4 SCC 291. In paragraph
2 of the said decision it was observed as under:

E "It would indeed be a travesty of justice to keep a person in jail for
a period of five or six years for an offence which is ultimately fou~d .
1

not to have been committed by him. Can the Court ever compensate
him for his incarceration which is found to be unjustified? Would it
be just at all for the Court to tell a person: "We have admitted your
appeal because we think you have a primafacie case, but unfortunately
F we have no time to hear your appeal for quite a few years and,
therefore, until we hear your appeal, you must remain in jail, even
though you may be innocent?" What confidence would such
administration of justice inspire in the mind of the public? It may quite
conceivably happen, and it has in fact happened in a few cases in this
Court, that a person may serve out his full term of imprisonment
G
before his appeal is taken up for hearing. Would a judge not be
overwhelmed with a feeling of contrition while acquitting such a
person after hearing the appeal? Would it not be an affront to his
sense of justice? Of what avail would the acquittal to be such a
person who had already served out his term of imprisonment or at any
H rate a major part of it? It is, therefore, absolutely essential that the
RAJESH RANJAN YADAV@PAPPU YADAV 1-. CBI THROUGH ITS DIRECTOR [MARKANDEY KATJU. J] 45

practice which this Court has been following in the past must be A
reconsidered and so long as this Court is not in a position to hear the
appeal of an accused within a reasonable period of time, the Court
should ordinarily, unless there are cogent grounds for acting otherwise,
release the accused on bail in cases where special leave has been
granted to the accused to appeal against his conviction and sentence." B
Learned counsel for the appellant then relied on the decision of this
Court in Bhagirathsinh v. State a/Gujarat [1984] I SCC 284, Shaheen Welfare
Association v. Union of India & Ors. [ 1996] 2 SCC 616, Joginder Kumar v.
1r · State of UP. & Ors. [1994] 4 SCC 260 etc.

In our opinion none of the aforesaid decisions can be said to have laid C
down any absolute and unconditional rule about when bail should be granted
by the Court and when it should not. It all depends on the facts and
circumstances of each case and it cannot be said there is any absolute rule
that because a long period of imprisonment has expired bail must necessarily
be granted. D
As observed by this Court in State of UP. v. Amarmani Tripathi [2005]
8 sec 21, vide paragraph 18:

"It is well settled that the matters to be considered in an application
for bail are (i) whether there is any prima facie or reasonable ground E
to believe that the accused had committed the offence; (ii) nature and
gravity of the charge; (iii) severity of the punishment in the event of
conviction; (iv) danger of the accused absconding or fleeing, if released
on bail; (v) character, behaviour, means, position and standing of the
accused; (vi) likelihood of the offence being repeated; (vii) reasonable
apprehension of the witnesses being tampered with; and (viii) danger, F
of course, of justice being thwarted by grant of bail [see Prahlad
Singh Bhati v. NCT, Delhi, [2001] 4 SCC 280 and Gurcharan Singh
V. State Delhi Admn. [1978] 1 sec 118]. While a vague allegation that
the accused may tamper with the evidence or witnesses may not be
a ground to refuse bail, if the accused is of such character that his G
mere presence at large would intimidate the witnesses or if there is
material to show that he will use his liberty to subvert justice or
tamper with the evidence, then bail will be refused. We may also refer
to the following principles relating to grant or refusal of bail stated
in Kalyan Chandra Sarkar V. Rajesh Ranjan, [2004] 7 sec 528 pp.
535-36, para 11: H
~

46 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2006] SUPP. 9 S.C.R. "
.
A "I I. The law in regard to grant or refusal of bail is very settled.
The court granting bail should exercise its discretion in a judicious
manner and not as a matter of course. Though at the stage of granting
bail a detailed examination of evidence and elaborate documentation
of the merit of the case need not be undertaken, there is a need to
indicate in such orders reasons for prima facie concluding why bail
B was being granted particularly where the accused is charged of having
committed a serious offence. Any order devoid of such reasons would
suffer from non-application of mind. It is also necessary for the court
granting bail to consider among other circumstances, the following
·~
factors also before granting bail; they are:
c (a) The nature of accusation and the severity of punishment in
case of conviction and the nature of supporting evidence.

(b) Reasonable apprehension of tampering with the witness or
apprehension of threat to the complainant.

D (c) Prima facie satisfaction of the court in support of the charge.
(See Ram Govind Upadhyay v. Sudarshan Singh, [2002] 3 SCC 598
and Puran v. Rambilas, [2001] 6 SCC 338).

This Court also in specific terms held that (SCC pp.536-37, para 14):

E "The condition laid down under Section 437 {l)(i) is sine qua non
for granting bail even under Section 439 of the Code. In the impugned
order it is noticed that the High Court has given the period of
incarceration already undergone by the accused and the unlikelihood
of trial concluding in the near future as grounds sufficient to enlarge
the accused on bail, in spite of the fact that the accused stands
F charged of offences punishable with life imprisonment or even death
penalty. In such cases, in our opinion, the mere fact that the accused
has undergone certain period of incarceration .(three years in this
case) by itself would not entitled the accused to be enlarged on bail,
nor the fact that the trial is not likely to be concluded, in the near
G future either by itself or coupled with the period of incarceration
would be sufficient for enlarging the appellant on bail when the
gravity of the offence alleged is severe and there are allegations of
tampering with the witnesses by the accused during the period he was
on bail."

H (emphasis supplied)

•'
RAJESH RANJAN YADA V@ PAPPU YADA V 1•. CBI THROUGH ITS DIRECTOR [MARKANDEY KA TJU, J.] 47

The above decisions have referred to the decision of this Court in the A
appellant's own case Kalyan Chandra Sarkar v. Rajesh Ranjan @ Pappu
Yadav & Anr. [2004] 7 SCC 528 in which it was clearly held that the mere fact
that the accused has undergone a long period of incarceration by itself would
not entitle him to be enlarged on bail.

It may further be mentioned that in another case of the appellant Kalyan B
Chandra Sarkar v. Rajesh Ranjan@ Pappu Yadav & Anr. (2005] 3 SCC 284
where he sought bail, it was observed by this Court as under:

,. . "In the normal course one would have expected an accused whose
bail has been cancelled and who was intending to make an application C
for grant of bail to behave in a manner not to give any room for the
prosecution to contend that he has been misusing the facilities available
to him in law while he is in jail. But it seems, it is not the attitude of
the respondent.

Immediately after cancellation of bail by this Court the respondent D
had moved a fresh application before the High Court for grant of bail
which came to be allowed by the order of the High Court dated 21-
9-2004 and pursuant to the said order of bail the respondent came to

• be released from jail. The said order of the High Court granting bail
was challenged before this Court by the complainant and the
investigating agency (CBI) but what happened in between is worth E
noticing. On 26-9-2004 when the respondent was out of jail because
of the bail granted by the High Court, he instead of getting himself
treated for the ailment which he was complaining of, it is alleged that
he was hosting a party for his co-prisoners in the jail late in the night
of that day. While the authorities in the reports submitted pursuant F
to the directions issued by this Court did not admit that a party was
given by the accused on 26-9-2004 they did admit that between 9.30
p.m. to 10.00 p.m. on that night the respondent did unauthorizedly
I v
visit the jail contrary to all restrictions on the entry to the jail under
the Jail Manual. A complaint in regard to this unauthorized entry of
the respondent to the prohibited areas of the jail premises is registered G
and based on the direction issued by the High Court of Patna, an
investigation is going on in this regard and some of the jail authorities
have been transferred.

On 1-10-2004 this Court while entertaining the appeal of. the
complaint against the grant of bail by the High Court directed the H
48 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2006) SUPP. 9 S.C.R.
..
A respondent to surrender to custody forthwith. Consequent to which
he was taken back to custody.

It has also come on record that while in judicial custody the
respondent was using cell phone which was seized from him and he
was closely interacting with hardcore criminals who were undergoing
B jail sentence or are undertrial prisoners.

Respondent I while in judicial custody has been accused of
hatching a conspiracy to murder one Dimple Mehta in relation whereto
a first information report being Purnea Sadar PS Case No. 159 of2004
·~
has been lodged on 28-9-2004 under Sections 302/120-B/34 IPC and
c Section 27 of the Arms Act.

It appears from the order-sheet dated 25-2-2003 of the Court of
Additional Sessions Judge, XI Patna that the informant Shri Kalyan
Chandra Sarkar had been given threats by veteran criminals and, thus,
the Senior SP of Patna as well as SP was directed to make proper
D security arrangement for him and his family members.

Para 3.12 of the report submitted by the Central Bureau of
Investigation in response to this Court's order dated 2-12-2004 is as
under: •
E "3 .12. Investigation further reveals that Shri Dipak Kumar Singh,
IAS, the Inspector General of Prisons had on 1-11-2004, forwarded a
report of the Special Branch dated 30-10-2004, that Shri Rajesh Ranjan
@ Pappu Yadav was meeting several visitors in the Administrative
Block of Beur Jail (not the specified meeting place for visitors to the
F jail) and more significantly, that several such visitors, who entered the
jail under the pretext of meeting him (Shri Pappu Yadav) were actually
meeting other dreaded hardcore criminals lodged in the jail. The
Inspector General of Prisons had also urged the Jail Superintendent
to allow interviews with prisoners in strict accordance with the
provisions of the Jail Manual."
G
It is now beyond any controversy that such v1s1ts by a large
number of persons inside the jail are in violation of the provisions of
the Bihar Jail Manual and in particular Rules 623, 626-628 thereof.
Even upon his election as a Member of Parliament from Madhepura
Constituency he was not entitled to have such visitors having regard
H to the Special Rules for Division I Prisoners, Rule 1000 which permits
_,,,. RAJESH RANJAN YADAV@ PAPPU YADAV 1•. CBI THROUGH ITS DIRECTOR [MARKANDEY KA TJU, l.] 49

interviews only once every fortnight and Rule 1001 which debars A
political matters being included in the conversation. These Rules also
stand violated.

Thus the material recorded hereinabove shows that the respondent
has absolutely no respect for rule of law nor is he in any manner afraid
of the consequence!> of his unlawful acts. This is clear from the fact B
that some of the acts of the respondent recorded hereinabove have
been committed even when his application for grant of bail is pending.

The material on record also shows that the jail authorities at Beur
\" are not in a position to control the illegal activities of this respondent
for whatever reasons they may be." c
The above observations clearly imply that the appellant's conduct has
been such that he does not deserve bail.
~

Learned counsel for the appellant further relied on the decision of this
Court in Ranjitsing Brahmajeetsing Sharma v. State of Maharashtra and D
Anr., [2005] 5 SCC 294. In paragraph 35 of the said decision it was observed
as under:

"Presumption of innocence is a human right. (See Narendra Singh
v. State of M.P., [(2004] I0 SCC 699 para 31. Article 21 in view of its
expansive meap.ing not only protects life and liberty but also envisages E
a fair procedure. Liberty of a person should not ordinarily be interfered
with unless there exists cogent grounds therefore. Sub-section (4) of
Section 21 must be interpreted keeping in view the aforementioned
salutary principles. Giving an opportunity to the Public Prosecutor to
oppose an application for release of an accused appears to be
F
reasonable restriction but clause (b) of sub-section (4) of Section 21
must be given a proper meaning."

.... Learned counsel for the appellant has repeatedly referred to Article 21
of the Constitution and on that basis has submitted that the appellant should
be released on bail particularly since he has already been imprisoned for more G
than six years.

We are of the opinion that while it is true that Article 21 is of great
importance because it enshrines the fundamental right to individual liberty,
but at the same time a balance has to be struck between the right to individual
H
~ - f-.
50 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (2006] ·SUPP. 9 S.C.R. ......

A liberty and the interest of society. No right can be absolute, and reasonable
restrictions can be placed on them. While it is true that one of the
considerations in deciding whether to grant bail to an accused or not is
whether he has been in jail for a long time, the Court has afso to take into
consideration other facts and circumstances, such as the interest of the
B society.

It has been stated that the appellant has been a Member of Parliament
on four occasions. In our opinion, this is wholly irrelevant. The law is no
respecter of persons, and is the same for every one.
1
A perusal of the FIR itself shows that it is a triple murder case, and the
C incident was committed in broad day light with sophisticated weapons. It is
true that_ the appellant was not named in the FIR, but it has come in the
statement before the Magistrate under Section 164 Cr.P.C. of one Ranjan
Tiwari that he and other assailants had been hired by the appellant to commit
this ghastly crime.
D
We are not inclined to comment on the veracity or otherwise of the
statement of Ranjan Tiwari and other witnesses as it may influence the trial,
but looking at the allegations against the appellant both in the statement of
Ranjan Tiwari and other witnesses, we are of the opinion on the facts and
circumstances of the case, that this is certainly not a case for grant of bail
E to the appellant, particularly since the prosecution witnesses have been
examined and now the defence witnesses alone have to be examined. It would,
in our opinion, be wholly inappropriate to grant bail when not only the
investigation is over but even the trial is partly over, and the allegations
against the appellant are serious.

F The conduct of the appellant as noted in the decision in Kalyan Chandra
Sarkar v. Rajesh Ranjan@Pappu Yadav and Anr., [2005] 3 SCC 284 (quoted
above), is also such that we are not inclined to exercise our discretion under
Article 136 for granting bail to the appellant.

Learned Addi. Solicitor General, Shri Amarendra Sharan, submitted that
G
the appellant himself was at least partly responsible for the delay in the
conclusion of the trial because most of the prosecution witnesses were cross-
exam ined by his counsel for several days, mostly be asking irrelevant
questions, and this was deliberate dilatory tactics used for delaying the trial
so that on that basis the appellant may pray for bail.
H
RAJESH RANJAN YADA V@ PAPPU YADAV "·CBI THROUGH ITS DIRECTOR [MARKANDEY KATJU. l.] 51

It is not necessary for us to go into this aspect of the matter because A
we have already noted above that this is certainly not a case for grant of bail
to the appellant as the facts and circumstances of the case disclose.

Learned counsel for the appellant then submitted that since the appellant
is not on bail, he cannot conduct his defence effectively. In our opinion if this
argument is to be accepted, then logically in every case bail has to be granted. B
We cannot accept such a contention.

On the facts and circumstances of the case, we find no merit in this
•· appeal. The appeal is accordingly dismissed. We, however, make it clear that
no further application for bail will be considered in this case by any Court,
as already a large number of bail applications have been rejected earlier, both C
by the High Court and this Court.

While we dismiss this appeal, we direct that the trial court shall ensure
that the defence witnesses are examined on a day-to-day basis in accordance
with a fixed time schedule so that the trial is completed as expeditiously as D
possible and the judgment is delivered soon thereafter. No costs.

B.B.B. Appeal dismissed.