IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AT BENGALURU DATED THIS THE 6TH DAY OF AUGUST 2019 BEFORE THE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE K.N.PHANEENDRA CRIMINAL PETITION NO.4044/2019 BETWEEN:
VENUGOPAL @ VENU S/O BETTAIAH AGED ABOUT 33 YEARS R/O MAHIMAPURA VILLAGE NELAMANGALA TALUK BENGALURU RURAL DISTRICT – 562 123 … PETITIONER (BY SRI G.M.SRINIVASA REDDY, ADVOCATE) AND:
STATE OF KARNATAKA REPTD. BY NELAMANGALA RURAL POLICE, NELAMANGALA REPTD BY PUBLIC PROSECUTOR HIGH COURT BUILDING BENGALURU 560 001 …RESPONDENT (BY SRI K.P. YOGANNA, HCGP) THIS CRIMINAL PETITION IS FILED UNDER SECTION 439 OF CR.P.C PRAYING TO ENLARGE THE PETITIONER ON BAIL IN CR.NO.1/2019 (C.C.NO.624/2019) OF NELAMANGALA RURAL POLICE STATION, BENGALURU FOR THE OFFENCES PUNISHABLE UNDER SECTIONS 363, 302, 201 R/W 149 OF I.P.C. ON THE FILE OF THE PRINCIPAL CIVIL JUDGE & JMFC, NELAMANGALA.
THIS CRIMINAL PETITION COMING ON FOR ORDERS THIS DAY, THE COURT MADE THE FOLLOWING:
O R D E R 1. Heard and Perused the records.
2. Petitioner is arraigned as accused no.1 in the charge sheet laid by the Police in C.C.No.624/2019 arising out of Crime No.1/2019 on the file of Nelamangala Rural Police Station.
3. Brief facts of the case are as follows:
One M.K.Chandrashekar lodged a complaint stating that he had a younger brother by name Naveen M.K. (deceased). The complainant lost his father about eight years ago and the complainant was living with his mother and younger brother Naveen. The deceased Naveen without the knowledge of the complainant appears to have sold the trees belonging to accused no.1 in the land. The complainant had gone to the land on 29.12.2018 in order to stop cutting the trees. At that time, accused nos.1 & 2 came there at 11.30 a.m. and quarreled with the complainant. They also insisted that the complainant should call his younger brother Naveen M.K. who sold the trees.
The deceased on 30.12.2018 has in fact telephoned to the complainant through mobile phone in order to enquire as to whether the complainant was assaulted by the accused after he left the place. In this background, the said Naveen went missing and a missing complaint was lodged. Subsequently, his dead body was found with a cut throat injury and the death was due to hemorrhage and shock as per post mortem examination report. The charge sheet papers discloses that there are no eye witnesses to the incident. There is no recovery as such from the petitioner. In fact, the other accused persons 2 to 6 who are also alleged to have participated in doing away the life of Naveen were already released on bail by the learned Sessions Judge in Criminal Miscellaneous Nos.214/2019, 248/2019 & 259/2019. In the said cases also, the learned Sessions Judge has made an observation that there are no eye witnesses to the incident and no materials are collected from the accused persons as it is a circumstantial evidence. Petition of accused no.1 is dismissed mainly on the ground that motive was attributed to accused no.1. Motive alone is not sufficient at this stage to draw any interference against the petitioner herein. The prosecution has to prove the acts against the petitioner beyond reasonable doubt by proving all the circumstances projected against the petitioner. Under the above circumstances, as the other accused have already been released on bail, the petitioner is also entitled to be enlarged on bail on some conditions. Hence, the following order:
The petition is allowed. Consequently, the petitioner shall be released on bail in connection with Crime No.1/2019 of Nelamangala Rural Police Station registered against him for the offences punishable under Sections 363, 302, 201 r/w 149 IPC, subject to the following conditions:
(i) The petitioner shall execute a personal bond for a sum of Rs.50,000/- (Rupees Fifty Thousand only) with one surety for the like-sum to the satisfaction of the jurisdictional Court.
(ii) The petitioner shall not indulge in tampering the prosecution witnesses.
(iii) The petitioner shall appear before the jurisdictional Court on all future hearing dates unless exempted by the Court for any genuine cause.
(iv) The petitioner shall not leave the jurisdiction of the trial Court without prior permission of the Court till the case registered against him is disposed of.
Sd/-
JUDGE hkh.