Bombay High Court
Sagar Maruti Karve vs The State Of Maharashtra on 17 August, 2021
Bench: Nitin Jamdar, C.V. Bhadang
14-ia-1265-2019 in apeal-1288-2019-
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION
INTERIM APPLICATION NO.1265 OF 2019
IN
CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 1288 OF 2019
Sagar Maruti Karve ...Applicant
V/s.
The State of Maharashtra ...Respondent
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Mr.Aniket Ujjwal Nikam a/w Mr.Aashish Satpute, Mr.Amit R.
Icham i/b Piyush Toshnival for the Applicant.
Mrs.P.P. Shinde, APP, for Respondent-State.
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CORAM : NITIN JAMDAR AND
C. V. BHADANG, JJ.
DATE : 17 August 2021
P.C. :
. By this Application, the Applicant (Accused No.8) is
seeking suspension of sentence and release on bail. The
Applicant along with seven others, were tried by the learned
Sessions Judge at Satara in Sessions Case No.139 of 2014 under
Section 143, 147, 148, 302, 307 read with 149 of Indian Penal
Code ('IPC' for short), Section 4, 5/25 of the Arms Act and
Section 37(1)(3) read with Section 135 of the Bombay Police Act.
2. The learned Sessions Judge by the impugned
judgment and order dated 21 August 2019, while acquitting the
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original accused Nos.1 to 6 has convicted the present Applicant
and the Accused No.7 Abhijit Pawar under Section 302 and 307
read with 34 of the IPC. The Applicant has been sentenced to
suffer imprisonment for life under Section 302 and to suffer
rigorous imprisonment for 7 years under Section 307 of Indian
Penal Code apart from payment of fine.
3. According to the prosecution there was a marriage
procession of Ajay Mane taken out on 12 June 2014. Ajay Mane
called PW-1 Amol Chaugule, PW-6 Ajay Nalawade and deceased
Vikas Pawar to take part in the marriage procession. Accordingly,
Amol Chaugule along with Ajay Nalawade and deceased Vikas
Pawar went on motorcycle to village Dabewadi and had taken
part in the marriage procession. There was a dolby system
installed on the tractor of one Akshay Pawar. The marriage
procession halted in front of the Padmavati Devi Temple at about
10.30 p.m. Ajay Mane went inside the temple for prayers. It is
said that at that time Ajay Nalawade was insisting Ajay Pawar to
dance in the procession to which Ajay Pawar declined,
whereupon Ajay Nalawade is alleged to have pushed Ajay Pawar
and assaulted him by a stone. After some time deceased Vikas
Pawar was feeling tired. He along with the others came back and
halted in a tin shed at a distance of 1½ km from village
Dabewadi. It is the material prosecution case that the present
applicant and others formed an unlawful assembly armed with
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weapons such as guptis and wooden dandas came near the shed
and assaulted Vikas Pawar and one Vasant Gaikwad. Both of
them sustained injuries out of which Vikas Pawar succumbed to
the same. The Applicant and the others were prosecuted for
intentionally having caused death of Vikas Pawar and attempt to
murder Vasant Gaikwad. The offence came to be registered on
the basis of complaint lodged by Amol Choughule. The
Applicant (Accused No.1) and the original Accused No.7 have
been convicted while the others have been acquitted.
4. We have heard the learned counsel for the Applicant
and the learned Additional Public Prosecutor for the State.
5. PW-1 Amol Shivdas Chaugule, PW-2 Vasant
Gaikwad, PW-3 Dhondiram Tanaji Shingade and PW-6 Ajay
Dnyaneshwar Nalawade were examined by the prosecution as
eyewitnesses.
6. We prima facie find that PW-1 Amol Chaugule has
named the present Applicant as one of the assailants. PW-2
Vasant Gaikwad although has named the Applicant as one of the
assailants that evidence is brought on record, as an omission vis-a-
vis the police statement. PW-3 Dhondiram Tanaji Shingade and
PW-6 Ajay Nalawade have not attributed any role or overtact or
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an assault to the Applicant. Thus prima facie the evidence of the
eye witnesses, is discrepant as to the role of the present applicant
is concerned. The Applicant was on bail, during the course of the
trial.
7. The learned Sessions Judge has not accepted the
prosecution evidence, insofar as the involvement of the Accused
Nos.1 to 6 are concerned, who are also named by the prosecution
witnesses. Considering the overall circumstances, and prima
facie having regard to the fact that two out of the four
prosecution witnesses have not attributed any overtact or assault
by the Applicant and evidence of PW-2 attributing an assault is
by way of an improvement over the police statement, we find that
the Applicant can be released on bail. In the result, the following
order is passed.
ORDER
(i) The substantive sentence of imprisonment
awarded to the Applicant-Sagar Maruti Karve is hereby
suspended, pending disposal of the Appeal.
(ii) The Applicant-Sagar Maruti Karve shall be
released on bail on execution of a PR Bond in the sum
of Rs.25,000/- with one or two solvent sureties in the
like amount and subject to payment of fine, if not
already paid.
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(iii) Bail bonds to be furnished before the learned
Sessions Judge.
(C. V. BHADANG, J.) (NITIN JAMDAR, J.)
Digitally signed
NILAM by NILAM
SANTOSH
SANTOSH KAMBLE
KAMBLE Date: 2021.08.18
17:55:06 +0530
N.S. Kamble page 5 of 5
