Bail for accused involved in heinous crimes requires careful assessment of individual roles and public safety, with parity not considered if roles differ significantly.

ORDER :

Y. LAKSHMANARAO, J.

The Criminal Petition has been filed under Sections 480 and 483 of the Bhartiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (for brevity ‘the BNSS ’) [ Sections 437 and 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (for brevity ‘the Cr.P.C’)] seeking to enlarge the petitioners/Accused Nos.3 and 4 on bail in S.C.No.110 of 2016 on the file of learned VI Additional District and Sessions Judge-cum- Special Court for trial of offences against Women, Chittoor, which arose out of Crime No.130/2015 of I Town Police Station, Chittoor.

2. The Sub-Divisional Police Officer, Chittoor/Investigating Officer after completion of investigation filed charge sheet against Petitioners and twenty one others for the alleged offences punishable under Sections 147 , 148, 302, 307, 326, 120-B, 109 read with 149, 212, 216 and 201 of the INDIAN PENAL CODE , 1860 (for brevity ‘the I.P.C.,’), Sections 25(1A), 25(1AAA), 25(1B)(a), 25(1B)(c), 27(3) and 30 of the ARMS ACT , 1959 (for brevity ‘the Act’). The Petitioners were arrested by the Investigating Officer on 24.11.2015. Since then, they have been in the judicial custody.

3. Provenance of the case of the prosecution as emanated from the averments of the charge sheet is as follows:

On 17.11.2015 V. Satish Kumar Naidu gave a statement to the police in CMC Hospital, Vellore. Basing on the statement, a case was registered in Crime No.130/2015 of Chittoor I Town Police Station against accused for the offences punishable under sections 302, 307, 120-B, 301 r/w 511 r/w 34 of ‘the I.P.C.,’ and Sec.25(1B)(a) and 27 of ‘the Act’. It is stated in the report that on 17.11.2015 V. Satish Kumar Naidu went to Municipal Corporation Office, Chittoor to meet Katari Mohan, who was the husband of Mayor of Chittoor Municipal Corporation, to discuss about his father's transfer. When he is in the chambers of the Mayor at about 11:45 a.m., the accused No.1 to 4 entered into the Chambers of Mayor. Out of four of the above accused, two persons were in Burkhas. The accused No.1 had removed his Burkha and shot the Mayor on her head with a revolver. Accused No.3 hacked Katari Mohan with a knife on his neck. When the de-facto complainant tried to stop accused No.4, he hacked him on his back. When Katari Mohan had run away into the conference Hall which is attached to the Mayor's chamber, all the accused chased him and hacked him with knives. Thereafter the persons who were there viz., Murali, Chinna, Kishore, Vijay Kumar and others shifted the Mayor Anuradha, Katari Mohan and the de-facto complainant to hospital, where the doctors declared that the Mayor was brought dead. Thereafter, Katari Mohan, who received serious injuries, and the de-facto complainant were shifted to CMC Hospital for better treatment.

After registration of FIR, police took up investigation. On completion of investigation, the police filed charge sheet against the petitioners and 21 others.

4. Sri D.Purna Chandra Reddy, learned Counsel for the Petitioners submits that the petitioners are innocent, they did not commit any offence, much less the alleged offences; they were falsely implicated in this case by the de-facto complainant; there was a delay of eight hours in lodging the report though the incident occurred in the heart of Chittoor City and the Police Station is within one kilometre away from the scene of offence; as it is a sensational case in Chittoor District, although Police were aware about the incident immediately within minutes and number of persons were available, the FIR was registered not immediately; there were number of instances whic