Sirajuddin @ Siraj & Others vs State

Krishna S. Dixit, J

Petitioners being the accused Nos.3, 4, 5 & 6 in Crime No.18/2020 registered by the Santhebennur police, for offences punishable under Section

379 IPC, 41(D) and 102 of Cr.P.C and also Sections 86 & 87 of Karnataka Forest Act, 1963, are invoking the jurisdiction of this Court for their

enlargement on bail, their Crl.Misc.No.161/2020 for the said purpose having been rejected by the learned Principal District & Session Judge,

Davanagere vide order dated 29.02.2020.

After service of notice, the respondent â€"State having entered appearance through its HCGP Sri. Mahesh Shetty vehemently opposes the bail

petition contending that the material collected in the investigation at once rebuts the version of the petitioners; he also submits that releasing the

petitioners is unsafe to the peace and order in the society and poses danger to the sandal wood trees that are scarcely found nowadays.

Having heard the learned counsel for the parties and having perused the Case Papers, this Court is of a considered opinion that petitioners are

entitled to restoration of their personal liberty by way of enlargement on bail for the following reasons:

(a) the offences alleged against the petitioners are not that heinous; they are not punishable with death or imprisonment for life;

(b) petitioners have been in the custody for some time now and that the accused Nos.1 & 2 have already been enlarged on bail in Crl.P.No.1865/2020

disposed off by a Co-ordinate Bench of this Court vide order dated 09.04.2020; thus, the rule of parity enures to the benefit of the petitioners, there

being no militating circumstances warranting its uninvocability;

(c) the contention of the learned HCGP that if the petitioners are enlarged on bail, they are not likely to come back for the trial, can be taken care of

by stipulating an appropriate condition to ensure their participation in the trial or further investigation; this apart, they can be directed to mark

attendance before the jurisdictional police as well, periodically.

In the above circumstances, this petition having been favoured, the petitioners shall be admitted to bail, forthwith, subject to the following conditions:

(i) The petitioners shall execute their personal bonds each for a sum of Rs.1,00,000/- (One Lakh Rupees) only with two sureties for the like-sum each,

to the satisfaction of the learned trial Judge.

(ii) The petitioners shall not indulge in any act prejudicial to further investigation or fair trial of the offences involved nor they shall intimidate or

influence the prosecution witnesses or any person related to them nor shall they destroy any evidentiary material.

(iii) The petitioners shall participate in the proceedings in the court below on regular basis and shall not remain absent without leave or justification

whatsoever; they shall also co-operate with the police in the event further investigation is undertaken.

(iv) The petitioners shall not leave the jurisdiction of the trial Court without prior permission till the case registered against them is disposed off.

(v) The petitioners shall mark their attendance before the jurisdictional police station once in two weeks, till after the trial & disposal of the criminal

case.

The learned Registrar (Judicial) is requested to transmit this order to the jurisdictional Court/Authority by e-mail or otherwise, as early as possible for

information and needful implementation.