Delhi High Court grants bail to man who dragged cop on car bonnet [Read Order]

A man who allegedly refused to stop his vehicle at a police checkpoint and hit a police official while speeding away has been granted bail by the Delhi High Court [Rohit Sharma v. State]..Justice Subramonium Prasad observed that the accused was an engineering graduate and that most of the witnesses in the case were policemen, whom he couldn’t influence.“The petitioner is an engineering graduate having roots in the society. Most of the witnesses are police witnesses and the petitioner would not be able to influence them. The evidence has already been collected and the chargesheet shall be filed shortly,” the Court said..The Court was hearing a bail application filed by one Rohit Sharma, booked on charges of attempt to murder, assault and obstruction of a public servant. The policemen were stated to be at a checkpoint where they waved at the petitioner to stop his vehicle.It came on record that after being asked to stop, the petitioner slowed down his vehicle initially, but picked up speed all of a sudden and hit an assistant sub-inspector while speeding away.Another policeman reportedly had to save himself by moving to the other side. It was stated that the complainant, a head constable, tried to stop the car from the front side. He was stated to have jumped on the car’s bonnet, but the petitioner did not stop the car.Though the policeman grabbed the wipers on the car’s windshield in a bid to stop the vehicle, the driver did not stop. The petitioner was stated to have applied brakes on seeing another car coming from the opposite direction, causing the hanging policeman to fall on the road and suffer injuries.Sharma had filed an anticipatory bail plea before a sessions court, which was dismissed. The High Court also rejected such a plea, granting him liberty to him to file a regular bail plea. He surrendered on July 12, 2021, and was again unsuccessful in obtaining bail from the sessions court..Senior Counsel N Hariharan, appearing for the petitioner, submitted that the investigation was more or less over with the chargesheet slated to be filed in October.Additional Public Prosecutor Meenakshi Chauhan, appearing for the State, opposed the bail, pointing out that the petitioner had hit a policeman with his car, and when the other policeman tried to stop the vehicle and jumped on the car’s bonnet, he chose to step on the accelerator instead.The Court took note of the site map on record and noted that the petitioner had hit the victim and drove a considerable distance before stopping the vehicle, only after a car from the opposite direction came at him.“The site map shows that the petitioner was not driving on the straight road but took at least four turns before stopping the vehicle. Be that as it may, the investigation is more or less complete. Most of the witnesses are police witnesses and their statements have been recorded,” the Court observed.Applying the law laid down by the Supreme Court in Gurcharan Singh, the Court stated there was no doubt Sharma had been charged with Section 307 (attempt to murder) of the Indian Penal Code, and if convicted, he could be sentenced for life. “But that alone cannot be a factum to keep the petitioner in incarceration…,” it said..Sharma was ordered to be released on bail, on a personal bond of ₹75,000 with two sureties of the like amount. He was directed not to leave the National Capital Territory of Delhi without prior permission of the Court.“The petitioner shall report to the police station concerned every Tuesday and Friday at 10.30 am and should be released after completing the formalities within half an hour. The petitioner is directed to give all his mobile numbers to the Investigating Officer and keep them operational at all times,” it was ordered further.The Court, in the meantime, clarified that the observations in this order would not have any bearing on the trial..[Read Order]