BAIL/42545/2025 of PAVITRA DIXIT Vs STATE OF U.P.

HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD CRIMINAL MISC. BAIL APPLICATION No. - 42545 of 2025 Court No. - 68 HON'BLE ASHUTOSH SRIVASTAVA, J. Heard Shri Nikhil Pathak, learned counsel for the applicant and Shri Yagyavalka Pandey, learned AGA for the State and perused the entire material available on record. This is a second bail application filed by the applicant. The first bail application filed by the present applicant was rejected by a coordinate Bench of this Court vide order dated  23.12.2022, passed in Criminal Misc. Bail Application No. 49850 of 2022 , Pavitra Dixit vs. State of U.P., copy whereof has been brought on record as Annexure-3 to the bail application. The applicant-Pavitra Dixit, has filed this second bail application with a prayer to enlarge her on bail in Crime No. 452 of 2022, under Section 406 and 420 IPC, Police Station-Modinagar, District-Ghaziabad, during the pendency of the trial. In support of this second bail application, learned counsel for the applicant has reiterated the entire submissions made in the first bail application, which are not necessary to mention herein again by this Court. Apart from the above, learned counsel for the applicant submits Versus Counsel for Applicant(s) : Ashish Pandey, Nikil Pathak, Pragya Pandey Counsel for Opposite Party(s) : G.A. Pavitra Dixit .....Applicant(s) State of U.P. .....Opposite Party(s) that in the present case Charge sheet has been filed by the Investigating Officer against the applicant and one other accused on 12.10.2022. Learned counsel for the applicant further submits that there are five witness in the charge sheet and till date statement of the P.W. 1 to P.W. 4 has been completed up to 03.02.2026 and thereafter the P.W. 5 is not appearing before the Court concerned and against him NBW was issued on 20.02.2026. Learned counsel for the applicant further submits that the applicant is entitled for the benefit of Sections 436 A and first proviso of Section 437 (1) & (6) Cr.P.C. which provides as under: "436A. Maximum period for which an undertrail prisoner can be detained:- Where a person has, during the period of investigation, inquiry or trial under this Code of an offence under any law (not being an offence for which the punishment of death has been specified as one of the punishments under that law) undergone detention for a period extending up to one-half of the maximum period of imprisonment specified for that offence under that law, he shall be released by the Court on his personal bond with or without sureties; Provided that the Court may, after hearing the Public Prosecutor and for reasons to be recorded by it in writing, order the continued detention of such person for a period longer than one-half of the said period or release him on bail instead of the personal bond with or without sureties; Provided further that no such person shall in any case be detained during the period of investigation inquiry or trial for more than the maximum period of imprisonment provided for the said offence under that law. 437. When bail may be taken in case of non-bailable offence-[(1) When any person accused of, or suspected of, BAIL No. 42545 of 2025 2 the commission of any non-bailable offence is arrested or detained without warrant by an officer in charge of a police station or appears or is brought before a Court other than the High Court or Court of Session, he may be released on bail, but - (i)such person shall not be so released if there appear reasonable grounds for believing that he has been guilty of an offence punishable with death or imprisonment for life; (ii)such person shall not be so released if such offence is a cognizable offence and he had been previously convicted of an offence punishable with death, imprisonment for life or imprisonment for seven years or more, or he had been previously convicted on two or more occasions of [a cognizable offence punishable with imprisonment for three years or more but not less than seven years]: Provided that the Court may direct that a person referred to in clause (i) or clause (ii) be released on bail if such person is under the age of sixteen years or is a woman or is sick or infirm : ......... ......... (6) If, in any case triable by a Magistrate, the trial of a person accused of any non-bailable offence is not concluded within a period of sixty days from the first date fixed for taking evidence in the case, such person shall, if he is in custody during the whole of the said period, be released on bail, to the satisfaction of the Magistrate, unless for reasons to be recorded in writing, the Magistrate otherwise directs." Learned counsel for the applicant submits that the applicant is BAIL No. 42545 of 2025 3 lady and is languishing in jail since 27.08.2022 and till date she suffered incarceration for three years, seven months and 26 days which is more than the half of the sentence provided under Sections 406 and 420 I.P.C. Criminal history of three cases has been properly explained in paragraph no. 3 of the supplementary affidavit and there is no possibility of conclusion of trial in near future . He, therefore, submits that on the above grounds, the applicant is liable to be enlarged on bail. Learned AGA has vehemently opposed, but could not dispute the aforesaid facts.  Considering all those facts and circumstances,  severity of the punishment in the case of conviction , period of incarceration as well as mandate of the Section 436 (A) and Ist Proviso of Section 437 (1) & Section 437 (6) Cr.P.C and  reasonable apprehension of tampering with the witness and prima facie case, but without commenting on merit of case, a case for bail is made out. Accordingly, the bail application is allowed. Let the accused-applicant,  Pavitra Dixit , involved in above mentioned case crime number be released on bail, on her executing a personal bond and two reliable sureties each, in the like amount to the satisfaction of the court concerned, subject to the following conditions: 1. The applicant will not tamper with the evidence. 2. The applicant will not indulge in any criminal activity. 3. The applicant will not pressurize/intimidate the prosecution witnesses and co-operate in the trial. 4. The applicant will appear regularly on each and every date fixed by the trial court, unless her personal appearance is exempted through counsel by the court concerned. BAIL No. 42545 of 2025 4 In the event of breach of any of the aforesaid conditions, the court below will be at liberty to proceed to cancel her bail. April 23, 2026 Deepak/ BAIL No. 42545 of 2025 5 (Ashutosh Srivastava,J.)