{"id":364228,"date":"2025-10-17T12:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-10-17T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/?p=364228"},"modified":"2025-10-24T10:01:44","modified_gmt":"2025-10-24T04:31:44","slug":"allahabad-hc-bail-umesh-pal-murder-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/10\/17\/allahabad-hc-bail-umesh-pal-murder-case\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Accused not named in FIR, Name surfaced during investigation’; Allahabad HC grants bail in case linked to Umesh Pal murder"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Allahabad High Court:<\/span> In a bail application filed seeking release of the accused for offences under Sections 147<\/a>, 384<\/a>, 506<\/a>, 201<\/a>, 120B<\/a>, 195A<\/a>, 34<\/a> of the Penal Code, 1860<\/a> (‘IPC’) and under Section 42 B of Jail Act and Section 8<\/a> read with Section 13<\/a> of Prevention of Corruption Act<\/a> and Section 7 of Criminal Law Amendment Act, during pendency of the trial in the court below, the Single Judge Bench of Sameer Jain, J. granted bail to the accused, observing that he was not named in the FIR and that his name had surfaced only during the course of investigation. The only allegation against him was that he had illegally met Ashraf in jail, with no other direct accusations on record. The Court further reiterated that mere criminal antecedents cannot be a ground to deny bail when a strong prima facie<\/span> case is made out and the accused has been in prolonged incarceration.<\/p>\n

The case forms part of the larger legal proceedings arising from the killing of lawyer Umesh Pal on 24-02-2023 in Prayagraj, who was the prime eyewitness in the 2005 Raju Pal murder case. The Raju Pal case involved Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf (Khalid Azim) as key accused. Following Umesh Pal’s murder, the investigation widened to include several associates of Atiq and Ashraf. Notably, both Atiq Ahmed and Ashraf were shot dead on 15-04-2023 while in police custody, in an incident that was broadcast live across the country, sparking widespread public outcry and raising serious questions about custodial safety and the rule of law.<\/p>\n

The FIR, dated 07-03-2023, was initially lodged against seven accused persons, accusing them of conspiring to commit murder and making illegal entry into Bareilly Jail. The accused was not named in the FIR but was implicated later based on the statement of a co-accused, alleging that the accused also met Ashraf in jail.<\/p>\n

The accused’s counsel submitted that:<\/p>\n