Sai Ajay Rajput v. State of Maharashtra and Anr.
Case brief
What is this about?
Anticipatory bail — SC & ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act — S.14(A) appeal allowed; S.18 bar inapplicable where no prima facie SC & ST offence; parity with co-accused; delayed FIR and post-FIR insertion of caste utterances. Bombay High Court, Criminal Appeal No. 532 of 2025, N. R. Borkar, J., decided 21.08.2025. Appellant Sai Ajay Rajput sought anticipatory bail in Crime No. 256 of 2023, Yeola City Police Station, for offences under IPC Ss. 327, 324, 143, 147, 148, 149, 363, 504, 323, 506, 364 and S. 3(1)(r) SC & ST Act, his application (ABA No. 47 of 2025) having been rejected by the Additional Sessions Judge, Yeola on 15.04.2025. Following this Court's order dated 13.11.2024 in Criminal Appeal No. 910 of 2024 releasing co-accused Rajendra Rajput and Suresh Pardeshi, and its observation that the FIR (incident 17.06.2024, lodged 07.07.2024) contained no caste utterances which surfaced only in the IO's report dated 22.07.2024 before the Special Judge, bail was granted on a P.R. Bond of Rs. 25,000/- with one/two sureties, with conditions to attend the police station on 25.08.2025 and 26.08.2025 and co-operate with investigation.