The Bombay high court has granted bail to Sonia Pahuja, 46, an accused in the 2016 Sandeep Gadoli Encounter case observing that she is a woman and murder trial will not conclude soon. Justice PD Naik also noted that while Pahuja was out on interim Covid bail for two years, she complied with the bail conditions.
Pahuja was arrested on July 14, 2016. She was released on emergency Covid-19 interim bail in October 2022 and she surrendered on February 22. Her daughter Divya Pahuja is a co-accused in the case. Her bail plea is pending.
Court directed her to attend lcoal police station once a month
"The applicant is a lady. She has been in custody for more than four years. She was on bail for a period of about two years. She had complied with conditions of bail. While granting temporary bail her health condition was taken into consideration. The applicant by relying on medical case papers claims to be suffering from health issues. All these factors would distinguish applicants' case for granting bail,’’ said Justice Naik on March 21. The order was made available this week.
She has been directed to be released on furnishing a personal bond of ₹1 lakh. The court has also directed her to attend the local police station where she resides once a month for two hours. Her bail plea contended that she has been in jail for long and has been suffering from several ailments. She relied on her medical reports for the same.
Pasuma applied for regular bail while out on emergency bail
So far, only a second witness is being examined in the case before the trial court of the 171 witnesses. A high power committee was set up during the Covid 19 pandemic to decongest jails and curb the spread of the virus by granting emergency bail and parole. Pasuma too had sought temporary bail which was granted. While out she applied for regular bail last October.
Special Public Prosecutor Amin Solkar opposed her bail saying that she did not surrender within time after the Notification granting Covid bail and parole was withdrawn. The trial Court had issued show cause notice to her. Solkar further claimed that her health condition was stable.
No case to reconsider bail, offence serious in nature
Solkar further pointed out that earlier the trial court had rejected her bail plea on merits with detailed reasons. As the offence is of serious nature, there was no case to reconsider her bail. He added that the prosecution will not axamine all 171 witnesses and is willing to proceed with the trial expeditiously.
Gadoli, a convict and a proclaimed offender, was wanted by the Haryana police in a 2015 murder case. He was 41 other cases registered against him. Pahuja was accused of accompanying Gadoli at the time of the encounter and of criminal conspiracy to cause his murder.
