PANAJI
The High Court of Bombay at Goa has granted conditional bail to a murder suspect, who has been under trial for over four years. The Bench of Justice MS Karnik acknowledged that the trial process had been prolonged and raised the possibility of further delay while granting the accused relief, sought through a plea filed this year.
Alban alias Albin Toppo, a labourer hailing from Jharkhand, has been charged with “accidentally” killing his employer Pavan Kumar “ with a wooden stick -- who intervened to stop a fight between the accused and his wife, in November 2018. Since his arrest, the accused has been lodged in Colvale Jail.
The High Court, during the hearing, observed that the trial is likely to take a long time to conclude.
“So far as the trial is concerned, in all 15 witnesses are to be examined by the prosecution. Six witnesses have already been examined. The applicant is in custody for more than four and a half years. No doubt, the trial has commenced but nine witnesses are yet to be examined which may result in the trial getting delayed,” it said, adding, “The applicant has no criminal antecedents. Taking an overall view of the matter and that the trial is likely to take a long time to conclude, coupled with the fact that there is nothing on record to indicate that the applicant is a flight risk, the applicant can be released on bail by imposing stringent conditions.”
Toppo has thus been released on bail upon his furnishing a PR bond in the sum of Rs 25,000 with one or more sureties in the like amount to the satisfaction of the Trial Court.
