Abid Bashir
Srinagar (NVI): Jammu & Kashmir High Court today dismissed the bail application of former Finance Minister Abdur Rahim Rather’s son in a multi-crore bank fraud case.
A single bench of the High Court headed by Justice Puneet Gupta dismissed the bail application moved by Hilal Rather, son of former Finance Minister Abdur Rahim Rather, on medical grounds.
“The application being without merit is dismissed. The merits of the case have not been argued by the counsels as the application for bail was mainly confined on medical grounds,” reads the High Court order.
The court observed that bail cannot be granted on the mere asking of the accused, nor can the accused claim bail as a matter of right. “Each case has to be decided on its own merits,” the court observed.
It also observed that the case of the accused is not covered by the directions of the Supreme Court for decongesting jails in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.
“The other contention of the learned counsel for the accused is that the case of the accused is covered by the directions of the Hon’ble Supreme Court issued in view of the spread of COVID-19 and the lockdown which is in force. The learned counsel for the respondent has argued that the case of the accused is not covered by the directions of the Hon’ble Supreme Court and in any case the charges in which the accused has been booked carry the punishment for more than seven years,” reveals the court order.
The Court observed that the apprehension raised by counsel for the accused that he may contact infection or even can infect other inmates of the jail due to the prevailing conditions is not borne out from the record. “The court finds no material on record which substantiates the argument of the counsel for the accused. The apprehension of the accused is misplaced as of now. The Jail authorities must be otherwise taking all the measures to keep the jail in hygienic conditions keeping in view the onslaught of COVID-19. The bail cannot be granted on mere assumption that the conditions in the Jail are unhygienic and that the accused will suffer for that reason,” the order read.
