IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AT BENGALURU DATED THIS THE 09TH DAY OF DECEMBER, 2019 BEFORE THE HON’BLE MR.JUSTICE B.A. PATIL CRIMINAL PETITION NO.8281/2019 BETWEEN:
Nagaraja @ Naga S/o Varadaraj, Aged about 30 years, R/at 8th Cross, Ambedkar Nagar, KGF, Kolar District-563 101. ... Petitioner (By Sri M.V.Charati, Advocate) AND:
State of Karnataka By Varthur Police Station, Bengaluru (R) District-562 106. Rept. by Learned SPP High Court of Karnataka, Bengaluru-560 001. ... Respondent (By Sri M. Divakar Maddur, Advocate) This Criminal Petition is filed under Section 439 of Cr.P.C., praying to enlarge the petitioner on bail in CR.No.134/2018 of Varthur Police Station, Bengaluru City for the offences punishable under Sections 143, 144, 147, 148, 341, 120B and 302 read with Section 149 of IPC.
This Criminal Petition is coming on for Orders, this day, the court made the following:
ORDER The present petition has been filed by the petitioner/accused No.1 under Section 439 of Cr.P.C. to enlarge him on bail in Crime No.134/2018, registered by Varthur Police Station, Bengaluru City for the offences punishable under Sections 143, 144, 147, 148, 341, 302 and 120B read with Section 149 of IPC.
2. Heard the learned counsel for the petitioner/accused No.1 and learned High Court Government Pleader for the respondent-State.
3. The brief facts of the case are that the complainant is second wife of the deceased. She got married with the deceased about ten years ago. The deceased had several cases in Banasavadi Police Station and he had gone to jail on several occasions. Subsequently, he was released on bail about one year back. About three weeks prior to the incident, there was a quarrel between the deceased and accused No.1-Nagaraja. It is alleged that her husband had assaulted accused No.1. Because of the said act, accused No.1 and his associates were having enmity against the deceased. Accused No.13-Ballari was a friend of accused No.1. The deceased and his friends were living in a room in Kolar. The complainant had visited the room of her husband in Kolar to meet him. On 17.05.2018 at about 5.00 p.m., the deceased told to complainant that he was going to see his children from his first wife and accordingly he went along with accused No.13 and one Abhi in a car. At 11.40 p.m., she received a telephone call stating that her husband was murdered near Shell petrol bunk, Kodati Gate. She immediately rushed to the scene of occurrence and reached there at about 2.30 a.m. There she saw the dead body of her husband and there were several injuries on his face, abdomen, legs and hands and etc. When she asked Abhi, who had accompanied the deceased in the car, she came to know that they were going from Rayasandra towards Kodathi Gate and when they reached Kodathi Gate, accused Nos.1, 3, 4 and 5 came in a Scorpio car and obstructed the car and accused No.13 and other accused on account of previous enmity assaulted him with longs, choppers and knives etc., and committed murder of the deceased. On the basis of which, a case has been registered and charge sheet has also been filed.
4. It is the submission of the learned counsel for the petitioner/accused No.1 that already accused Nos.2 to 7, 11 and 12 have been released on bail. On the ground of parity, petitioner/accused No.1 is also entitled to be released on bail. Even the overt acts alleged against accused Nos.2 to 5 and facts and circumstances against petitioner/accused No.1 are one and the same. Hence, the petitioner/accused No.1 is entitled to be released on bail. It is his further submission that there is violation of the provision of law during the course of the investigation, the same has also been observed in the bail petition and decided by this Court. He further submits that there is no specific allegation made against petitioner/accused No.1 and all the allegations are omnibus in nature. It is his further submission that there is delay in recording the statement of the witnesses, that itself creates doubt in the prosecution. He further submits that petitioner/accused No.1 is ready to abide by the conditions imposed by this Court and ready to offer sureties. On these grounds, he prayed to allow the petition and release the petitioner-accused No.1 on bail.
5. Per contra, learned High Court Government Pleader for the respondent/State vehemently argued and submitted that the petitioner/accused No.1 is a habitual offender and he has conspired with the other accused persons with an earlier motive and intention to eliminate the deceased, petitioner/accused No.1 and along with other accused persons assaulted the deceased with lethal weapons and the said injuries resulted to death of the deceased. It is his further submission that the petitioner/accused No.1 has installed and adopted GPS device to ascertain the movements of the deceased and thereafter, he has assaulted the deceased with lethal weapons. It is his further submission that the petitioner/accused No.1 is habitual offender, if he is released on bail, he may again indulge in similar type of criminal activities. On these grounds, he prayed to dismiss the petition.
6. I have carefully and cautiously gone through the submissions made by the learned counsel for the parties and perused the record.
7. The learned counsel for the petitioner has produced the orders of this Court where accused No.12 was granted bail in Crl.P.No.9324/2018 dated 27.03.2019, accused No.11 was granted bail in Crl.P.No.7062/2018 dated 09.11.2018, accused No.5 was granted bail in Crl.P.No.207/2019 dated 21.03.2019, accused Nos.6 and 7 were granted bail in Crl.P.No.3149/2019 dated 26.07.2019, accused No.4 was granted bail in Crl.P.No.2808/2019 dated 19.09.2019, accused No.3 was granted bail in Crl.P.No.4865/2019 dated 21.10.2019 and accused No.2 was granted bail in Crl.P.No.7377/2019 dated 13.11.2019. The materials placed on record indicates that in similar facts and circumstances, the remaining accused persons have been released on bail and looking into other material and the delay in recording the statement of the eyewitnesses, I am of the considered opinion that on the ground of parity, accused No.1 is also entitled to be released on bail by imposing certain conditions.
In that light, the petition is allowed and the petitioner/accused No.1 is ordered to be released on bail in Crime No.134/2018 of Varthur Police Station, Bengaluru City for the offences punishable under Sections 143, 144, 147, 148, 341, 120B read with Section 149 of IPC, subject to following conditions:
1. Petitioner/accused No.1 shall execute a personal bond for a sum of Rs.2,00,000/-(Rupees Two Lakhs Only) with two sureties for the likesum to the satisfaction of the trial Court.
2. He shall not tamper with the prosecution evidence directly or indirectly.
3. He shall not leave the jurisdiction of the Court without prior permission.
4. He shall mark his attendance once in 15 days between 10:00 a.m to 5:00 p.m before concerned jurisdictional police till the trial is concluded.
5. He shall not indulge in similar type of criminal activities during the pendency of the case. If he again indulge in similar type of criminal activities, the Court below is at liberty to cancel his bail.
Sd/- JUDGE HA/-