The Supreme Court on Thursday set aside the Allahabad High Court’s decision granting bail to Rajveer, an accused in the 2024 Hastinapur murder case, remarking that the High Court had relied “only on parity” without examining his actual role in the crime. The atmosphere inside Court No..... felt tense as the bench repeated, more than once, that bail orders must show “application of mind,” especially in serious offences like murder.
Background
According to the case record, the conflict began with a verbal altercation between the complainant’s family and one Suresh Pal’s family-both from the same village-before it allegedly escalated into a fatal armed confrontation. On 28 June 2024, while the complainant, his father Sonveer, and family members were on their way to a neighbour’s farmland, a group of accused-identified as Suresh Pal, Rajveer, Aditya, and others-allegedly blocked their path with pistols in hand.
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The FIR states that Rajveer threatened the family, after which Suresh Pal allegedly instigated his son Aditya to shoot. Aditya fired at Sonveer’s chest, killing him on the spot. Rajveer and others were arrested soon after.
Rajveer’s bail was earlier rejected twice by the Meerut Sessions Court, which had noted the seriousness of the gunshot and laceration injuries. But on 3 January 2025, the High Court granted him bail, relying mainly on the fact that his co-accused father Suresh Pal had already been released on similar grounds.
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Court’s Observations
During the hearing, Justice Sanjay Karol, speaking for the bench, made it clear that the High Court had committed a significant error by treating “parity” as an automatic passport to bail. “The bench observed, ‘Parity cannot be applied mechanically. It must reflect similarity in role, not just similarity in case number.’”
The judgment cites several precedents-from Delhi, Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, and other High Courts-showing judicial consensus that parity is only one factor, never the sole factor. The Supreme Court went on to explain that parity means similar position, not merely being part of the same group.
In a pointed remark, the Court said Rajveer’s role, as per the FIR, was that of the “instigator of the moment,” the one who allegedly provoked Aditya to fire the fatal shot. “That role cannot be equated with a co-accused who merely stood by, even if armed,” the bench noted.
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The Court also recalled that even Suresh Pal’s bail-on which Rajveer’s bail was based-had already been set aside by the Supreme Court in March 2025. With that, the foundation of the High Court’s parity reasoning “no longer existed at all.”
The bench further criticized the High Court for delivering what it called a near “non-speaking order.” “A bail order must show minimal reasoning. Absence of reasoning violates natural justice,” the Court remarked, referencing earlier rulings.
Decision
After examining the case materials and the High Court’s order, the Supreme Court allowed the complainant’s appeal. It set aside the bail granted to Rajveer and directed him to surrender within two weeks.
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In a related appeal, the Court also quashed the bail granted to co-accused Prince, noting that the High Court had again failed to provide any reasoning. That matter has now been remanded to the High Court for fresh consideration based on the accused’s specific role and the gravity of the offence.
The judgment ends by instructing the Registrar (Judicial) to communicate the order to the Allahabad High Court for necessary compliance.
Case Title: Sagar v. State of Uttar Pradesh & Another
Case No.: Criminal Appeal @ SLP (Crl.) Nos. 8865–8866 of 2025
Case Type: Criminal Appeal (Bail Challenge)
Decision Date: 28 November 2025
