Must donate to PM CARES Fund: Patna HC’s precondition to bail applicant

The Patna High Court has granted bail on the condition that the bail applicant pay Rs.15,000 towards the PM CARES Fund set up for COVID-19 relief, legal news website BarandBench.com has reported.

Justice Anjani Kumar Sharan directed that bail applicant be enlarged on furnishing a bail bond of Rs. 25,000 with two sureties of the like amount. After recording that the bail applicant had agreed to donate to the PM CARES COVID-19 relief fund, the judge also added,"The bail bond of the petitioner shall be accepted by the learned court below on showing receipt of deposit of Rs.15,000 in the PM Cares fund," Patna High Court said.

The petitioner had sought bail for a case registered citing offences under Sections 30(a) & 38 (I) of the Bihar Prohibition Excise Act, 2016.

The counsel for the petitioner submitted that there was no conscious possession of liquor by the petitioner and that the house and shop from where the liquor was seized did not belong to the petitioner.

Apart from asserting that the petitioner was innocent, it was also submitted that the petitioner had no criminal antecedents and that he had been in jail since January this year.

Recording these submissions, and the willingness of the petitioner to donate Rs 15,000 to the PM CARES fund, the court proceeded to allow the bail plea.