The High Court
Case Details
IN THE HIGH COURT OF ORISSA AT CUTTACK BLAPL No.1749 of 2024 Kartika Bag ..... State Of Odisha -versus- ..... Petitioner Represented By Adv. - Prasanta Kumar Routray Opposite Party Represented By Adv. – Mr. M.R. Patra, ASC
Legal Reasoning
CORAM: THE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE ADITYA KUMAR MOHAPATRA
Decision
ORDER 19.12.2024 Order No. 05. 1. 2. This matter is taken up through Hybrid mode. Heard learned counsel appearing for the Petitioner and learned Additional Standing Counsel appearing for the State-Opposite Party. Perused the materials placed before this Court. 3. The present bail application under Section 439 of Cr.P.C., has been filed by the Petitioner for regular bail relating to Bargarh P.S. Case No.480 of 2023, corresponding to C.T. Case No.02/01 of 2023, pending before the learned Addl. Sessions Judge, Bargarh, for alleged commission of offence punishable under Sections 302, 301 & 120-B of IPC. 4. Learned counsel for the Petitioner submits that earlier this matter was not before any other Bench of this Court. It is submitted by the learned counsel for the Petitioner that the Petitioner is in custody since 21.07.2023. He further contended that the Page 1 of 4. investigation has been completed and the final charge-sheet has been filed on 26.11.2023. Learned counsel for the Petitioner further contended that the case has been committed, however, the trial has not yet began. He further submitted that there is no possibility of an early conclusion of the trial. It was submitted that the entire prosecution case is based on circumstantial evidence and that there are no eye witnesses to the occurrence. Learned counsel for the Petitioner further contended that the Petitioner has been falsely implicated in the present case merely on the basis of the allegation that the deceased had an illicit relationship with the wife of the Petitioner. He further contended that although the Petitioner has been implicated on the basis of the last seen theory, such theory does not hold good so far as the facts of the present case is concerned, in as much as both the Petitioner and the deceased were friends. He argued that there exists clear discrepancies between time of the death of the deceased and the point of time when the Petitioner and the deceased were last seen together. He further contended that the Petitioner does not have any criminal antecedent and that since the Petitioner belongs to the locality, therefore, there is no chance of his absconding. In such view of the matter, learned counsel for the Petitioner submitted that the Petitioner be released on bail on any terms and condition deemed fit by this Court which the Petitioner undertakes to abide by while on bail. 5. Learned Additional Standing Counsel for the State on the other hand, referring to the case diary, statement of the witnesses and other materials on record, contended that in view of the finding of the medical officer in the post mortem report, the death of the deceased is homicidal in nature. He further contended that although Page 2 of 4. the post mortem was conducted on 20.07.2023 at about 3:00 P.M., the doctor has opined that the death occurred within 24 hours of the post mortem. It was further submitted that some of the local witnesses that have been examined, have submitted that both the deceased and the Petitioner were seeing together in the previous night at about 11:00 P.M. He further contended that apart from the aforesaid materials, the implication of the Petitioner in the present case also depends on the statement of the accused leading to discovery of evidence in the present case. In such view of the matter, the learned counsel for the State submitted that taking into account the materials on record a prima facie case is well made out in the present case. As such, it was contended that the Petitioner should not be enlarged on pre-arrest bail. 6. On a careful consideration of the learned counsels appearing for the respective parties and on careful consideration of the surrounding facts as well as materials on record, this Court observes that the entire prosecution case is based on circumstantial evidence. The circumstances which have been relied upon by the prosecution relate to the statement of the accused leading to the discovery of the weapon of offence and the statement of the local witnesses who have seen the Petitioner and the deceased for the last time. On a prima facie analysis of the aforesaid two circumstances, this Court found that it is on record that no blood stains are found on the weapon of offence that has been recovered, as a result of the statement of the accused. Moreover, the last seen theory may not be clinching at this stage considering the fact that both the Petitioner and the deceased belong to the same village and that it is also an admitted fact that both are friends. Page 3 of 4. 7. Taking into consideration the aforesaid facts and circumstances, further on a careful analysis of the materials facts, and taking into consideration the period of custodial detention, and the fact that the charge-sheet has been submitted, this Court is inclined to release the Petitioner on bail on furnishing a bail bond of Rs.40,000/- (Rupees Forty Thousand) with two solvent sureties each for the like amount to the satisfaction of the learned court in seisin over the matter. Release of the Petitioner shall also be subject to following conditions:- i) shall not tamper with the prosecution evidence or threaten or gain over any of the prosecution witnesses; ii) shall not leave the jurisdiction of the trial Court without any specific permission of the trial Court till conclusion of the trial; iii) shall appear before the Trial Court on each and every date fixed without fail, if not prevented by any sufficient cause; Violation of any of the terms and conditions shall entail cancellation of bail. 8. The BLAPL is, accordingly, disposed of. S.K. Rout ( Aditya Kumar Mohapatra) Judge Signature Not Verified Digitally Signed Signed by: SANTANU KUMAR ROUT Reason: Authentication Location: High Court of Orissa, Cuttack Date: 23-Dec-2024 14:35:38 Page 4 of 4.