Alld HC grants bail to convict in Raju Pal murder case

Prayagraj: The Allahabad high court has granted bail to Abid, who was convicted in the 2005 high-profile BSP MLA Raju Pal murder case. The court has also suspended his sentence pending the disposal of his criminal appeal.A division bench comprising Justice Siddharth and Justice Vinai Kumar Dwivedi observed that the criminal appeal, pending since 2024, was unlikely to be heard in the near future. The court, therefore, held that the convict could be released on bail until a final decision is taken on the appeal.Abid’s counsel argued that his name did not figure in the original FIR and that action against him was initiated solely on the basis of statements made by co-accused persons.The defence submitted that no Test Identification Parade (TIP) was conducted and that no incriminating material was recovered from Abid’s possession.The court observed: “When the testimonies of the witnesses were recorded pursuant to the chargesheet filed by the local police, none of the alleged eyewitnesses identified the appellant as being among the assailants. Subsequently, on the basis of the chargesheet filed by the CBI, these witnesses made a somersault from their previous testimony and identified the appellant as one of the assailants after a considerable delay in the trial. This vital aspect was completely ignored by the trial court while recording the finding of conviction against the appellant.”In its order dated May 29, the court further observed: “No Test Identification Parade was conducted by the prosecution at any stage of the investigation. Considering that the appellant was not named in the first information report and that his name surfaced only on the basis of statements made by co-accused persons...”