Allowed

Somnath Chandrakant Pokale v. the State of Maharashtra

Bombay HC22 Feb 2008APPLN/154/2008

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

High Court granted bail to the applicant charged with murder, holding that evidence did not show his involvement in the assault or his role in aiding assailants to flee the scene, as no witness identified him as the driver of the rickshaw used to escape.

What did the court decide?

The applicant be released on bail on personal bond of Rs.20,000/- with two sureties of the like amount.

Somnath Chandrakant Pokale Vs the State of… — Murder and Culpable Homicide | Bombay HC (2008)

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abs

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 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY

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 CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION

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 CRIMINAL APPLICATION NO. 154 OF 2008

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 Somnath Chandrakant Pokale .. Applicant
 V/s

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 The State of Maharashtra .. Respondent

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 Mr.Vikas Shivarkar for the applicant.

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 Mr.D.P. Adsule, A.P.P. for the State.

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 CORAM : D.G. KARNIK, J.

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 DATE : 22ND FEBRUARY 2008

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P.C. :

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 1. Heard.

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 2. The applicant is charged with an offence of
 murder of Amod Ankush Lonare punishable under section
 302 and other related sections of the Indian Penal Code.
 The applicant is in custody since 3rd August 2007.

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 3. The prosecution case is that on 25th July 2007,
 Navnath Khilare, Nilesh Sawant, Balya Bharekar and
 Mallya @ Mallikarjun, who lived in the same building as
 the deceased, had abused the deceased alleging that he

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 - 2 -

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 was an informant of the police. The deceased had lodged

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 the First Information Report relating to the said
 incident in the police station on the same day. On 31st
 July 2007, the afore-mentioned four persons along with
 their accomplices Ganesh Gaikwad and Rahul Pawar
 assaulted the deceased with sharp weapons. Hearing the
 shouts of the deceased, the father of the deceased
 rushed to the spot and seeing him all the six persons
 ran away. Three of them ran way on a scooter and the
 other three ran away in a rickshaw. Brother of the
 deceased also saw the afore-mentioned six persons
 running away from the spot of the incident. The
 applicant has been arrested on suspicion that three of
 the assailants ran away in the rickshaw belonging to
 him.

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 4. Admittedly, the applicant was not present at the
 spot of assault. The father of the deceased has not
 named the applicant. Nor has the brother of the
 applicant, who saw the assailants running, named the
 applicant. Learned A.P.P. fairly stated that there is
 no eye witness showing that three other assailants ran
 away in the rickshaw of the applicant.

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 5. The evidence on record does not show

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 involvement of the applicant in the assault. There is
 also no direct evidence of any of the assailants running

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 away in the rickshaw of the applicant much less evidence
 regarding any role of the applicant in any plan for the
 assault on the applicant and thereafter aiding running
 away of the assailants. In the circumstances, the
 applicant is entitled to bail. Hence, I pass the
 following order:-

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ORDER

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 The applicant be released on bail in connection with the
 crime registered at C.R. No.586/2007 with Kothrud
 Police Station, Pune, on his executing personal bond of
 Rs.20,000/- with two sureties of the like amount subject
 to the following conditions:

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 (a) The applicant shall not make any inducement or
 give threats to any of the prosecution witnesses nor he
 shall tamper with the prosecution evidence.

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 (b) The applicant shall not change his present
 residence without prior intimation to the concerned
 police station.

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 (c) Any breach of the aforesaid conditions would
 result in cancellation of bail.

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 - 4 -

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 (D.G. KARNIK, J.)

Somnath Chandrakant Pokale v. the State of Maharashtra

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

Somnath Chandrakant Pokale v. the State of Maharashtra

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

What the court decided

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