$~17 * IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI + BAIL APPLN. 263/2026, CRL.M.A. 2141/2026 & CRL.M.A. 2142/2026 LOKESH .....Petitioner Through: Mr. Anindya Malhotra, DHCLSC with Ms. Ishita Sehrawat, Mr. Durgesh and Ms. Shaurya Lamba, Advs. versus GOVT NCT OF DELHI .....Respondent Through: Ms. Shubhi Gupta, APP for the State. CORAM: HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE PURUSHAINDRA KUMAR KAURAV O R D E R % 06.07.2026 1. The applicant by way of the instant application, seeks regular bail in connection with FIR No.147/2017 for offences under Sections 395/365/412/120B of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 registered at police station Alipur, Delhi. 2. As per the FIR, on 22.04.2017, at about 01:45 AM, the complainant Hargovind Yadav, truck driver and his helper Ashok Yadav were allegedly assaulted and held hostage by four unknown persons near Jindpur flyover, Alipur, Delhi. The accused person robbed truck loaded with grocery items along with mobile phones and documents, and abandoned the victims near Wazirabad Flyover after tying their hands and legs. 3. On the complaint, the FIR was registered and investigation was This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 07/07/2026 at 11:12:42 carried out. After investigation, the chargesheet was filed against eight accused. It is stated that all of them, have been granted bail except the present applicant. 4. The applicant, during COVID was granted temporary bail. He is stated that he has timely surrendered, however, due to High Powered Committee (HPC) recommendations, the applicant, for some unavoidable circumstances, could not timely report and, therefore, he was declared a Proclaimed Offender [‘PO’] and eventually, he was arrested on 12.02.2025. 5. Learned counsel appearing for the applicant submits that as on 11.02.2026, the applicant has already completed about 03 years 10 months 4 days of incarceration and by now, it is more than four years. He submits that all the accused persons have already been enlarged on bail and the applicant is ready to abide by all terms and conditions which the Court may likely to impose to secure his presence. 6. Learned APP has opposed the application and he submits that, looking at the false conduct of the applicant, he should not be granted benefit of regular bail. It is pointed out that there is another case against the applicant for offence under Section 307 registered in the State of Uttar Pradesh. She thus contends that there are 31 witnesses, out of them 07 witnesses have already been examined. 7. The Court has considered the submissions made by learned counsel appearing for the parties and perused the record. 8. It remains undisputed that all the accused persons are already on bail except the applicant. The applicant has been denied benefit of regular bail on the ground that he did not timely surrender and, therefore, he was declared PO. The evidence of PW6 and PW3 has also been considered. This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 07/07/2026 at 11:12:42 9. PW6 is Ashok Yadav, who was helper of the driver. PW3, Hargovind was the truck driver and the complainant. Both of them in their testimonies have not identified the applicant. 10. The Court, therefore, without expressing any opinion on the merit or otherwise and bearing in mind the long incarceration of the applicant, deems it appropriate to release the applicant on regular bail, subject to the appropriate conditions to be imposed by the concerned trial Court to secure the applicant’s presence during the trial. 11. If the applicant fails to adhere to the terms and conditions, the benefit of regular bail shall be liable to be withdrawn. 12. Application stands disposed of. PURUSHAINDRA KUMAR KAURAV, J JULY 6, 2026/P This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 07/07/2026 at 11:12:42