Srinagar, Sep 11: The 2nd Additional Sessions Court, Srinagar, on Friday declined the prayer for continuation of interim bail to Junaid Qureshi in connection with an alleged assault on his father, observing that fresh circumstances brought before the court, including CCTV footage and deterioration in the victim’s medical condition, weighed against extending his interim liberty.
The court was hearing an application under Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, in connection with FIR No. 83/2026 registered at Police Station Nishat under Section 109 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.
According to the order, the victim, identified as Mohammad Hashim Qureshi and stated to be the applicant’s father, had sustained a deep and lacerated injury to his head after allegedly being pushed down from an attic/staircase area. The Investigating Officer informed the court that his condition had deteriorated and that he was presently admitted in the ICU.
The court recorded that CCTV footage produced by the Investigating Officer appeared, on a prima facie view, to depict the applicant pushing the victim, following which the victim fell down the stairs and sustained a head injury. The court clarified that it was not making any final finding on the admissibility or evidentiary value of the electronic material at the bail stage.
The prosecution had also opposed continuation of interim bail, alleging that the applicant had not made a full and candid disclosure of his criminal antecedents while seeking bail. The court noted that registration of another FIR by itself cannot be treated as proof of guilt, but held that the manner in which material antecedents are disclosed or not disclosed can be relevant while exercising discretionary bail jurisdiction.
The court also noted that the victim was the applicant’s aged father and said the human dimension of the case could not be entirely overlooked, while making clear that the consideration did not amount to a finding of guilt.
The court observed that although the investigation had substantially progressed, the subsequent developments, including the CCTV footage and the victim’s deteriorating condition requiring ICU admission, had to be considered while deciding whether the limited interim liberty should continue.
Consequently, the court declined the prayer for continuation or extension of interim bail. It directed that Qureshi be taken into custody and handed over to the concerned police station for further proceedings in accordance with law.
The court made it clear that its observations regarding the CCTV footage, medical condition of the victim and alleged criminal antecedents were confined to consideration of interim liberty and would not prejudice the accused or prosecution at the appropriate stage of the proceedings. [KNT]
