Court cancels builder's bail in murder case

A Delhi court has cancelled bail granted to a builder, arrested for allegedly murdering a financier by throwing him down from the fifth floor of an apartment.
District Judge A S Jayachandra said the bail granted to accused Sunil Uppal by an additional sessions judge (ASJ) was based on irrelevant material and the order suffered from legal infirmity.
The court allowed the plea of victim Govind Ballabh Swami's wife seeking cancellation of Uppal's bail granted in January and directed him to surrender before a magistrate.
According to the prosecution, 42-year-old Swami was found dead at the courtyard of a posh apartment in Patparganj in East Delhi on November three last year. Police had alleged that the financier who owned a chartered accountancy firm and resided in Faridabad was pushed off the balcony by Uppal after an argument over Rs 70 lakh.

Swami's family members had told police that he had gone to Uppal's house to take the commission money but was locked up by the accused who had forced him to sign blank documents.
While adjudicating the plea for cancellation of bail, the district judge said though it had no power to review the order of a sessions judge, it was deciding the independent petition as per directions of the Delhi High Court.

"This court is aware that it cannot review the order passed by the ASJ but a petition being independent on its own which seeks cancellation of bail and as directed by the High Court, the prevailing circumstances of the case compels this court that enlarging the accused in a heinous crime even before the investigation is completed, is based on irrelevant material," the court said.

It noted that while deciding the bail plea, the sessions judge had recorded the statement of a key prosecution witness even before conclusion of probe and commencement of the trial.
"It must be borne in mind that the investigation into this case is still in progress and the charge sheet is yet to be filed. This case has not come up for trial before the ASJ.
"The powers of investigation are with the police. The ASJ had stepped into the extra jurisdiction in recording the statement of the so called witness... While the matter was still under investigation," the court said.

It said Uppal was not facing any allegation against violating the bail terms but "what was not understandable was the prominence given to the statement of ... (witness) recorded by the court which itself is beyond the scope of the law and jurisdiction..."
The woman, in her plea, said her husband was having some financial dealings with Uppal and another person and they were troubling and threatening to eliminate him. She said Swami had made a representation against them to the Prime Minister and had given a copy to the SHO of Madhu Vihar police station.
She said when Swami had gone to Uppal's place, he had called his cousin asking him to keep the police in the loop, saying the accused could harm him. She also alleged that there was no proper investigation by the police.

Uppal's counsel opposed the plea saying cancellation of bail hampers personal liberty and it cannot be revoked unless the accused misuses the liberty or interfered with the investigation. He said there were no such allegation and hence no ground to cancel the bail.