The Delhi High Court has rejected the plea for interim bail by a murder-accused seeking to attend regular PhD classes, saying that if there were provisions for video conferencing for attending the classes, the situation might have been different.
The petitioner had moved the court seeking interim bail in an FIR registered under Sections 302 (murder) and 307 (attempt to murder) read with Section 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Justice Rajnish Bhatnagar noted the gravity of the offence and the allegations of threats made by the accused against the complainant.
While acknowledging the right of individuals to pursue education, the court noted that the petitioner was facing a serious charge of murder and should be dealt with accordingly.
It questioned the choice of pursuing a full-time PhD programme requiring physical attendance while in judicial custody when other options, presumably distance or part-time courses, were available.
The court mentioned that if there were provisions for video conferencing for attending PhD classes, the situation might have been different.
However, the University the accused applied to had denied such a facility.
Considering that the trial had not commenced and the matter was pending at the stage of arguments on charge, the court concluded that granting interim bail for three months would impede the trial process.
The petitioner had earlier been granted interim bail for seven days to appear in the entrance exam for the PhD programme.
On the other hand, the state argued that the accused did not inform the trial court about enrolling in a regular PhD course, and there were concerns about the application being a ploy to leave jail and potentially threaten the complainant and witnesses.
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