The Supreme Court chose to lean in favour of personal liberty and the right to be treated equally by the law in order to grant bail to a man accused in the murder of a Shiv Sena leader in Maharashtra three years ago.
A Bench headed by Justice BR Gavai allowed the bail application of Suraj Vijay Agarwal, represented by advocates Sana Raees Khan and Sriram Parakkat, who has spent three years in custody following his arrest in 2020 in the murder of Rahul Shetty at Lonavala in Pune.
Ms. Khan said her client was arrested based on a “vague allegation of political rivalry” with the killed man. He has continued to languish behind bars without bail despite the fact that the chargesheet was filed in January 2021, two years ago. Charges were yet to be framed in the case. Over 40 prosecution witnesses remain to testify. The trial has not commenced. She asked whether Agarwal should suffer incarceration as an undertrial indefinitely.
