The main legal point established in the judgment is that the presence of sufficient prima-facie evidence pointing towards the guilt of the accused persons is a valid ground for rejecting a bail application.

JUDGMENT

V. Srishananda, J. - Heard Sri Syed Muzakkir Ahmed, learned counsel for the petitioner and learned High Court Government Pleader for the respondent-State and perused the records.

2. The present petition is filed under Section 439 Cr.P.C. seeking grant of regular bail in respect of Crime No. 206/2021 of Attibele Police Station, Bengaluru District.

3. The brief facts of the case are as follows:

A complaint came to be lodged by one Smt. Roopa W/o. Somashekar contending that her husband is owning a goods tempo bearing registration No. KA-05-AC1396 and he was working as a driver in Gayithri Transport. On 2.7.2021 at about 9.30 a.m. her husband had been to driver work as usual with the vehicle. At about 1.45 p.m. on the same day, she received a call on her son's mobile from the employee of her husband's company stating that near a vacant place in Home and Home layout near Balagaranahalli Village, dead body of her husband is found. Immediately herself and her son rushed to the spot and found the dead body of her husband in a pool of blood. She suspected that somebody murdered her husband and sought for action. Based on the said complaint, police registered the case and investigated the matter. During the investigation, initially police were able to arrest accused No. 3 by name- Sri Sathyanarayana. Based on his voluntary statement, accused No. 1- Sri. Ambarish and the present petitioner- Sri Subramanya @ Mani and others were also arrested by the police.

4. On further investigation, investigating agency is able to collect the materials so as to implicate the present petitioners also into the crime. As per the charge sheet materials on record, the role assigned to the present petitioner is that he took a scooter and also took out a knife and handed over to accused No. 1 and accused No. 1 and accused No. 2 moved on the scooter and called Sri Somashekhar to a lonely place and accused No. 1 stabbed the deceased-Somashekar in a lonely place called Home and Home Layout near Balagaranahalli Village and thereafter, both of them flee away on the scooter. The material on record also reveals that the accused persons had hatched a plan to take away the life of Sri. Somashekhar on account of civil dispute which is pending between the deceased and Sri Satyanarayana.

5. The petitioner approached the Trial Court for grant of bail. The learned III Addl. District and Sessions Judge, Bengaluru Rural District by order dated 14.12.2021 turned down the request of the petitioner. Ground of parity was also urged before the learned District Judge inasmuch as accused Nos. 3 to 7 have been granted bail. The learned trial Judge while rejecting the bail application of the present petitioner clearly observed that the role assigned to the present petitioner and accused Nos. 3 to 7 are altogether different and therefore, ground of parity is not available.

6. Reiterating the grounds urged in the bail application, learned counsel for the petitioner Sri Syed Muzakkir Ahmed Vehemently contended that the trial Judge failed to understand the voluntary statement and that could not have been utilized by the prosecution in opposing the bail petition. He also contended that scooter said to have been used in the incident is belonging to somebody else and this petitioner had no nexus whatsoever with the alleged scooter. He also pointed out that the petitioner is the resident of Kalkere village and he is an auto driver by profession and at no stretch of imagination, he could have been participated in the incident and sole basis for the prosecution to arraign him as accused is the voluntary statement of accused No. 3 which is in the nature and accomplish evidence and therefore, sought for grant of bail.

7. Per contra, learned HCGP., opposes the bail petition on the ground that material on record clearly indicates that accused No. 2 has taken the accused No. 1 on the scooter bearing No. KA53 HG 3520 and also handed over the knife which has been recovered in pursuance of voluntary