Neutral Citation No. - 2025:AHC-LKO:22567 Court No. - 15 Case :- CRIMINAL MISC. BAIL APPLICATION No. - 3356 of 2025 Applicant :- Shivam Opposite Party :- State Of U.P. Thru. Prin. Secy. Home Deptt. Lko. Counsel for Applicant :- Rakesh Kumar Nayak Counsel for Opposite Party :- G.A. Hon'ble Subhash Vidyarthi,J. 1. Heard Sri Rakesh Kumar Nayak, learned counsel for the applicant, Sri Jayant Singh Tomar, learned Additional Government Advocate-I for the State, as well as Shri Niyaj Ahmad, Advocate, who has put in appearance and filed his Vakalatnama on behalf of the informant and perused the records. The Vakalatnama is taken on record. 2. The instant application has been filed seeking release of the applicant on bail in Case Crime No.014 of 2025, under Sections 137(2), 103(1), 238 and 61(2) B.N.S., registered at Police Station Baskhari, District Ambedkar Nagar. 3. The aforesaid case has been registered on the basis of an F.I.R. lodged on 19.01.2025, alleging that the informant's grand-daughter aged 17 years was sleeping in his house on 18.01.2025; when the informant called her at about 11 p.m., she did not reply and upon going to her room, the informant did not find her there. No information regarding her could be gathered in spite of making a fanatic search. The informant stated that he believed that the applicant had enticed her away. 4. Dead-body of the victim was recovered from a pond in front of the applicant's village on 23.01.2025. 5. The inquest report mentions that certain articles of jewellery and clothes present over the dead-body were in place. 6. The postmortem examination was conducted on 24.01.2025 and time of death was opined to be about 3-4 days ago. Cause of death could not be ascertained. Viscera has been preserved for examination but the viscera examination report is still awaited. 7. During investigation, one Agya Ram stated that the informant and his wife were searching for their grand-daughter at about 12.45 hours on 18/19.01.2025 and he had also joined them in searching for their grand-daughter. They were searching her in some bushes and near the pond and at that time Vishal and Shivam (the applicant) went from side of the pond towards the village. He stated that at that time, he could not understand anything but after the dead-body was found, he felt that Vishal and Shivam (the applicant) along with Ram Ashish killed the victim and they were going away after throwing her dead-body in the pond. 8. Another witness- Sanjay Dubey stated that he is a resident of village Bhawanipur, district Azamgarh. The victim was daughter of his wife's brother. He had received a phone call at about 12.45 hours in the night of 18/19.01.2025, informing him about the victim having gone missing. Thereafter, he went to village Kaudahi along with his wife and son on a motorcycle. His father-in-law (informant) and mother-in-law were searching for the victim and they also joined them. They had seen Vishal and Shivam (the applicant) going away from the pond towards the village. 9. Thereafter, the investigating officer arrested the accused persons and in their custodial statements they confessed their involvement in commission of the offence. 10. Learned Additional Government Advocate-I as well as learned counsel for the informant has opposed the bail application. It is stated that the witnesses have stated about involvement of the applicant in commission of the offence and the investigation is still going on. 11. Having considered the aforesaid facts and circumstances of the case and keeping in view the fact that the victim had gone missing in the night of 18.01.2025; her dead-body was found from the pond situated in front of the informant's house on 23.01.2025; the clothes and jewellery present on her body were in place; the postmortem examination conducted on 24.01.2025 did not reveal any injury on the dead-body and the death has been opined to be about 3-4 days ago i.e. about on 21.01.2025; one of the witnesses has stated that he had joined the informant in searching the victim at 12.45 hours and he had seen the accused persons going away from the pond, whereas the other witness got information of the victim having gone missing at 12.45 hours in the night of 18/19.01.2025, and he came from Azamgarh on his motorcycle and he also joined the informant in searching for the victim and he also saw the accused persons going away from the pond towards the village, which raises, prima facie, suspicion against the version of the two witnesses; the applicant is a young person aged 19 years having no criminal history and he is languishing in jail since 27.01.2025 and without making any further observation, which may affect the outcome of the trial, I am of the view that the applicant is entitled to be released on bail. 12. Accordingly, this bail application stands allowed. 13. Let the applicant- Shivam be released on bail in the aforesaid case on furnishing a personal bond and two sureties each in the like amount to the satisfaction of magistrate/court concerned, subject to following conditions:- (i) the applicant shall not tamper with the prosecution evidence; (ii) the applicant shall not pressurize the prosecution witnesses; (iii) the applicant shall appear on each and every date fixed by the trial court, unless his appearance is exempted by the learned trial court. [Subhash Vidyarthi, J.] Order Date :- 22.4.2025 MVS/- Digitally signed by :- MANOJ VIKRAM SINGH CHAUHAN High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, Lucknow Bench