JUDGMENT :

Kuldeep Tiwari, J.

Through this second petition cast under Section 439 of the Cr.P.C., the petitioner craves for him being enlarged on regular bail, in case FIR No.67 dated 03.02.2022, under Section 302 of the IPC (Sections 34, 201 of the IPC added subsequently), registered at P.S. Pinjore, District Panchkula.

2. Petitioner's initial bail petition bearing No.CRM-M-14890-2023 was dismissed as withdrawn by this Court, vide order dated 18.07.2023. However, on account of there being no progress in the trial since the drawing of the order dated 18.07.2023, petitioner has again approached this Court for claiming the relief of regular bail.

GIST OF THE FIR AND INVESTIGATION

3. The genesis of the present FIR is embodied in the statement made by one Ashok Kumar (hereinafter referred to as the 'complainant'). The death of the complainant's son Abhinav Chandel (hereinafter referred to as the 'deceased') has constituted the bedrock for registration of the present FIR. The relevant extract of the complainant's statement, as narrated in the reply dated 01.03.2024, is reproduced hereunder:-

"3...present case was registered on the statement of Ashok Kumar son of Khyali Ram, wherein he alleged that he has two sons. His elder son Abhinav Chandel (deceased) was working as Junior Officer in Macleods Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Baddi (H.P) for last one year and was residing in Basti Bagh Colony, Baddi. That further alleged that on dated 30.01.2022, Abhinav Chandel (deceased) told him through mobile phone that he had come to Pinjore for getting the corona test done. Thereafter, on dated 31.01.2022, he (complainant) received a call from Macleods Pharmaceuticals Ltd. Baddi and was apprised that Abhinav Chandel (deceased) has not come to the Company. On making calls, mobile phone of Abhinav was found switched off. Thereafter, he along with other persons came to Baddi in search of Abhinav Chandel. When they went to his room, his son Abhinav (deceased) was not found there. His landlord told that Abhinav did not come to his room since 30.01.2022. In this regard, application was also given for missing report at Police Station, Baddi (H.P). That thereafter, he came to Pinjore side in search of his son. When he was inquiring about his son, he came to know that a dead body is lying at sewerage drain (ganda nala) at Rathpur Colony turn. He immediately went there and found some police officers and other persons were assembled, who were pushing the dead body out from the Nala. Therefore, the complainant and his relative identified the dead body of Abhinav Chandel. Upon these allegation present FIR was came to be registered.... "

4. Consequent upon registration of the present FIR, when investigation commenced, thereupon the role of four accused persons, namely, Jaspreet, Bharat Mittal, Amardeep (petitioner) and Rakesh surfaced behind murder of the deceased. The prosecution's case is that, all these accused persons and the deceased were/are drug addicts. All of them consumed narcotics and then the deceased started insisting the accused persons for sexual favours, whereupon, the accused persons pushed the deceased on the bed and strangulated him. After committing murder, the accused persons disposed of the deceased's dead body in the drain.

SUBMISSIONS OF THE LEARNED COUNSEL FOR THE PETITIONER

5. The learned counsel for the petitioner submits that, the petitioner has not committed any offence, rather he has been falsely implicated in the present case. To substantiate this claim, he submits that prosecution's most crucial witnesses, who stepped in the witness box respectively as PW5 to PW7 before the learned trial Court, have not supported the prosecution's case against the petitioner. Moreover, even the call detail records collected by the investigating agency do not hold any substance against the petitioner, inasmuch as, neither there occurred any calls between the petitioner and the deceased, nor the petitioner's mobile tower location establishes his presence at the