The court granted bail due to insufficient evidence of motive and prolonged judicial custody, emphasizing the right to timely trial.

ORDER :

KULDEEP MATHUR, J.

This application for bail under Section 483 BNSS (439 Cr.P.C.) has been filed by the petitioner who has been arrested in connection with F.I.R. No.72/2020 registered at Police Station Rayla, Dist. Bhilwara, for the offences under Sections 302 and 201 of IPC.

2. Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and learned Public Prosecutor. Perused the material available on record.

3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that the petitioner is in judicial custody since 03.07.2020. Drawing attention of the Court towards the FIR and the challan papers, learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that the dead body of the deceased- Leela Regar was found near Bhilwara Highway No.79, in the eastern side on mud way Lambia Kallan. During the course of the investigation, the investigating agency found that the deceased was last seen in the company of the present petitioner by her brother- Tulsiram.

4. Learned counsel submitted that the petitioner has been falsely implicated in the present case. The petitioner had no motive to commit the alleged crime. There is no eye witness of the alleged incident. The statements of the last seen witness- Tulsiram (PW-09) have already been recorded before the competent criminal Court which is not sufficient to establish complicity of the petitioner in commission of the alleged crime.

5. Learned counsel submitted that the petitioner is in judicial custody since 03.07.2020 and till date, statements of only 14 cited prosecution witnesses have been recorded before the competent criminal Court out of 34 cited prosecution witnesses. Looking at the speed at which trial is being conducted against the petitioner, the same is not likely to be concluded in the near future. It was urged that no case for the alleged offences is made out against the present petitioner and his incarceration is not warranted. There are no factors at play in the case at hand that may work against the grant of bail to the accused-petitioner and he has been made an accused based on conjunctures and surmises.

6. Per contra, learned Public Prosecutor has vehemently opposed the bail application. Learned Public Prosecutor submitted that in the present case not only the petitioner was seen in the company of the deceased but a stone containing blood stain which was allegedly used by the petitioner to commit the alleged crime has also been recovered at his instance. Learned Public Prosecutor submitted that looking to the seriousness of the allegations levelled against the present petitioner, he does not deserve to be enlarged on bail.

7. Having considered the rival submissions, facts and circumstances of the case, this Court prima facie finds that the petitioner is in judicial custody since 03.07.2020; there is no evidence of motive for the petitioner to commit the alleged crime. The statements of the last seen witness- Tulsiram (PW-09) have already been recorded before the competent criminal Court and therefore now there is no apprehension of petitioner influencing him. In the prima facie opinion of this Court, though a stone containing blood stain which was allegedly used by the petitioner to commit the alleged crime has been recovered at his instance, but since the stone has been recovered from an open place, it cannot be said that the place of recovery was within the exclusive knowledge of the present petitioner. Thus, looking to the factual aspect of the matter and the fact that the petitioner is in judicial custody since last more than four years and there is high probability that the trial may take long time to conclude, this Court deems it just and appropriate to extend the benefit of bail to the present petitioner.

8. Consequently, the bail application under Section 483 BNSS (439 Cr.P.C.) is allowed. It is ordered that the accused-petitioner Naresh @ Mokham Meghwanshi S/o Shri Ratan Lal Meghwanshi arrested in connection with F.I.R. No.72/2020 registered at Police Station Rayla, Dist. Bhilwara, shall be released on b