Neutral Citation No. - 2025:AHC:36400 Court No. - 5 Case :- CRIMINAL MISC. BAIL APPLICATION No. - 44939 of 2024 Applicant :- Irfan Solanki Opposite Party :- State of U.P. Counsel for Applicant :- Imran Ullah,Vineet Vikram Counsel for Opposite Party :- G.A. Hon'ble Ajay Bhanot,J. Matter is taken up in the revised call. The is the second bail application. By means of the bail application the applicant has prayed to be enlarged on bail in Case Crime No. 198 of 2022 at Police Station- Gwaltoli, District- Kanpur Nagar under Sections 34, 419, 420, 467, 468, 471, 120- B I.P.C. The applicant is in jail since 02.12.2022. The first bail application of the applicant was rejected by this Court on 17.02.2023. The following arguments made by Sri Imran Ullah, learned counsel assisted by Shri Vineet Vikram, learned counsel on behalf of the applicant, which could not be satisfactorily refuted by Sri J.K. Upadhyaya, learned Additional Advocate General from the record, entitle the applicant for grant of bail: 1. The gravamen of the charges in the FIR against the applicant is that he travelled on forged documents. 2. The applicant is a law abiding citizen who has made public service his vocation. He was an elected MLA. 3. The FIR is actuated by malafides due to political rivalry. 4. The applicant did not evade arrest at any point in time. 5. The FIR was lodged on 26.11.2022. He promptly presented himself before the Commissioner of Police at 10:00 AM on 02.12.2022. 6. The applicant joined the legal proceedings and has always cooperated in the investigations. 7. The applicant had no cause to forge any documents since he is a well known figure and is known for probity in public life. 8. Even if the prosecution case is taken on its face value the offence does not travel beyond Section 35 of Aadhaar Act. The maximum punishment of the said offence being three years. The applicant has been in prison for more than two years. 9. An FIR was lodged in Case Crime No. 127 of 2022, Police Station Jajmau, District Kanpur Nagar on 08.11.2022. 10. NBWs and coercive measures were taken out against the applicant within a period of 18 days. The State authorities stampeded through the legal process only to satisfy their political masters. 11. The rejection of the earlier bail application has no bearing on the instant bail application in view of the order dated 13.09.2023 passed by the Supreme Court in Petition (s) for Special Leave to Appeal (Crl.) No (s). 8198 of 2023. 12. The prosecution proposes to examine 26 witnesses. However, till date only two witnesses have been examined. 13. The trial is moving at a snail's pace and shows no signs of an early conclusion. The applicant cannot be faulted for the delay in the trial. 14. Inordinate delay in concluding trial will lead to virtually an indefinite imprisonment of the applicant without there being any credible evidence against him. 15. The applicant has explained his criminal history. It is also contended that the applicant has become a soft target and a convenient scapegoat for the police authorities who nominated him in a number of false cases to burnish their professional credentials. The said cases do not have any bearing on the instant bail application. 16. The applicant is not flight risk. The applicant being law abiding citizen have always cooperated with the investigation and undertakes to join the trial proceedings. There is no possibility of his influencing witnesses, tampering with the evidence or reoffending. In the light of the preceding discussion and without making any observations on the merits of the case, the bail application is allowed. Let the applicant- Irfan Solanki be released on bail in the aforesaid case crime number, on furnishing a personal bond and two sureties each in the like amount to the satisfaction of the court below. The following conditions be imposed in the interest of justice:- (i) The applicant will not tamper with the evidence or influence any witness during the trial. (ii) The applicant will appear before the trial court on the date fixed, unless personal presence is exempted. The learned trial court is directed to fix the sureties after due application of mind in light of the judgement rendered by this Court in Arvind Singh v. State of U.P. Thru. Prin. Secy. Home Deptt. (Application U/S 482 No.2613 of 2023). The learned trial court shall ensure that the right of bail of the applicant granted by this Court is not frustrated by arbitrary demands of sureties or onerous conditions which are unrelated to the socioeconomic status of the applicant. Order Date :- 12.3.2025 Jaswant Digitally signed by :- JASWANT KUMAR High Court of Judicature at Allahabad