IN THE HIGH COURT OF MADHYA PRADESH AT JABALPUR BEFORE HON'BLE SHRI JUSTICE ATUL SREEDHARAN ON THE 21^st OF NOVEMBER, 2022 MISC. CRIMINAL CASE No. 9165 of 2022 BETWEEN:-

SHALIKRAM S/O SHRI RAMGOPAL, AGED ABOUT 43 YEARS, OCCUPATION: AGRICULTURIST R/O VILLAGE PANWAR POLICE STATION PANWAR TAHSIL TYONTHAR DISTRICT REWA (MADHYA PRADESH)

.....PETITIONER (BY SHRI MANISH DATT, SENIOR ADVOCATE WITH SHRI JAGTENDRA PRASAD, ADVOCATE )

AND THE STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH THROUGH POLICE STATION SABHAPUR DISTRICT SATNA (MADHYA PRADESH)

.....RESPONDENTS (BY SHRI AHSOK SINHA, GOVERNMENT ADVOCATE WITH MS.

SHANTI TIWARI, PANEL LAWYER)

This application coming on for bail under section 439 Cr.P.C. this day, the court passed the following:

ORDER

This is the Second application under Section 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 has been filed for grant of bail to applicant Salikram in connection with Crime No.02/2018 for the offences punishable under Sections 147,148,149,436 and 302 IPC registered at Police Station Sabhapur, District Satna. The first application having been dismissed as withdrawn.

The applicant along with several others are accused in a case of Signature Not Verified Signed by: SHYAMLEE double murder where two brothers were allegedly assaulted with sticks, stones, axes and then thrown into the burning fire of their house.

The brief genesis of this case which has led to two cross cases is as follows :

The incident has taken place on 1.1.2018. One Manendra Mishra went to the shop adjacent to the house of the deceased/complainants to purchase "Rajshree" which also belonged to the family of the deceased. He did not pay for the same and so allegedly there was an altercation between him and Zareena, owner of the shop and mother of the deceased. Zareena says that Manendra Mishra was carrying a stick with him. The deceased persons Azaharuddin and Hussain Mohd came down and objected to the abuses being hurled at their mother Zareena. Thereafter they are supposed to have snatched the stick from the hands of Manendra Mishra assaulted him, which resulted in the death of Manendra Mishra, which is the subject matter of another case. In retaliation, applicant along with several other co-accused, gathered there and set the house on fire upon which the two deceased persons came out to save their lives but were assaulted by the group which included the applicant herein with stick, stones and axes and thereafter thrown into the burning house, which resulted in their death. This is the prosecution's story.

Learned counsel for the applicant submits that the postmortem report of both the deceased does not reflect any external injuries and the cause of death is shown as shock due to burn injuries. He has further stated that three purported eyewitnesses have already been examined in this case.

Signature Not Verified Signed by: SHYAMLEE They are Shaan Mohd, the brother of the deceased persons, Ahsaan Mohd. the father of the deceased and Zareena, who is the mother of deceased. Learned counsel for the applicant has drawn the attention of this Court to that part of Ahsaan Mohd's statement where he says that when the incident took place he was not there and neither was his elder son Shaan Mohd.

Similarly, the main witness Zareena also states that when the incident happened her husband Ahsaan Mohd, her son Shaan Mohd were not there at the scene occurrence.

Learned counsel for the applicant has further drawn the attention of this Court to paragraph no.17 of her cross-examination where she states that she did not tell the police in her statement that the applicant and certain others had come to the scene of occurrence immediately after the assault on the deceased Manendra Mishra by the two deceased persons. For the death of Manendra Mishra, another FIR has been registered in which cross case, the witness Shaan Mohd is an accused.

Learned counsel for the State, while vehemently opposing the application for grant of bail, has stated that Shaan Mohd was another eyewitness who has f