Revision Decision Unlikely Soon Because of Backlog: Allahabad High Court Grants Bail to Lawyer Charged with Stalking a Judge.
The Allahabad High Court granted bail to a lawyer accused of stalking a woman judge after he had spent nearly two years in jail. The court noted that the case would not be resolved quickly due to a backlog of cases. The High Court was reviewing a Criminal Revision filed by the lawyer against a decision made by the Additional District and Sessions Judge. The lawyer was convicted under several sections of the Indian Penal Code, including 354, 354A(IV), 354-D, and 509, and received a four-year prison sentence for section 354 IPC. Justice Ram Manohar Narayan Mishra stated that considering the arguments from both sides, the nature of the offense, the length of the sentence, and the fact that the lawyer had been in jail since July 11, 2023, it was appropriate to grant him bail while the revision was pending.
Advocate Ajay Pandey represented the lawyer, while the Additional Government Advocate represented the other party. The lawyer claimed that the complainant, a judicial officer at the District Court in Hamirpur during the incident, accused him of invading her privacy, making sexual comments, and staring at her as she left her chamber.
The Revisionist argued that the prosecution’s claims are overstated and that there are no accusations against him for sending inappropriate audio messages or WhatsApp texts to the informant or for attempting to communicate with her privately. The primary accusation is that he was stalking her. The Revisionist has apologized to her multiple times, but she misunderstood his intentions. It was also noted that he is a practicing lawyer and has already served 2 years, 2 months, and 15 days in prison with remission.
On the other hand, the AGA opposed the bail request, stating that the allegations involve misconduct and stalking a judicial officer in the district where the Revisionist practiced. The Bench considered the nature of the offense, the length of the sentence, and the fact that the Revisionist has been in jail since July 11, 2023. They also noted that the case is unlikely to be resolved soon due to a backlog. Given these factors, the Bench decided to grant bail, requiring the petitioner to provide a personal bond of Rs 50,000.
Cause Title: Mohd Haroon v. State of U.P [Neutral Citation 2024:AHC:177642]
Appearance:
Revisionist: Advocates Ajay Pandey,Amit Goel,Azad Khan,Deepak Pandey
Respondent: Additional Government Advocate
