IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB & HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH

201 Date of decision: 31.10.2025 DEVENDER ....Petitioner Versus STATE OF HARYANA ...Respondent CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE YASHVIR SINGH RATHOR Present : Mr. Kinshuk Nanda, Advocate for the petitioner.

Ms. Jasmine Gill, AAG, Haryana.

YASHVIR SINGH RATHOR. J.(Oral)

1. Present petition under Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 has been filed for grant of regular bail to the petitioner in case FIR No.488 dated 13.08.2023, under Section 302 of IPC, registered at Police Station Gharaunda, Karnal, District Karnal.

2. Reply dated 29.10.2023 by way of affidavit of Manoj Kumar, HPS, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Gharaunda, Karnal has been filed on behalf of respondent-State and the same is taken on record.

3. Brief facts of the prosecution case are that on 13.08.2023, a telephonic information was received in Police Station Gharaunda to the effect that body of one Mukesh Kumar is lying at the tubewell of Hoiram in the area of village Faridpur, on which police reached the spot, where Tilak Singh son of Mahender Singh (complainant) met him and submitted an application, alleging that on 13.08.2023 at about 06:54 am, he received a phone call from one Mohit Pandit, who disclosed that his brother Mukesh Kumar is lying on the ground in a pool of blood and when he reached the spot, Hoi Ram contractor of the field and Dimple were present there. After some time, Mohit Pandit also arrived and he alleged that his brother has been murdered by some unknown persons, after causing injuries to him. Thereafter, several villagers also gathered and one Surender @ Murli told him that on the previous day, he along with Rajesh and his friend, contractor Hoi Ram and his brother, Sandeep @ Gatu, Devender (petitioner) and Krishan @ Jardi son of Birmi were present in the field along with the deceased and these facts were disclosed by Surender @ Murli to his brother Pankaj and he sought action against the culprits. After registration of FIR, matter was investigated. During course of investigation, on 14.08.2023, supplementary statements of Tilak Singh and Vinod Kumar were recorded, in which they alleged that accused Devender (petitioner) had murdered Mukesh Kumar (deceased) by hitting him with his tractor. On 19.08.2023, statements of eyewitnesses namely Shiv Kumar, Tilak Raj and Rambir were recorded in which they stated that accused Devender had arrived at the spot on his tractor and had started abusing Shiv Kumar. Thereafter, he got off the tractor and grabbed his neck and threw him down but he was saved by Mukesh Kumar (deceased), Tilak Raj and Rambir. Accused got enraged and he climbed on his tractor and started hitting Mukesh Kumar (deceased) with the tractor with an intention to kill him. They jumped into the paddy field and Mukesh Kumar (deceased) got hit by the tractor and he got caught between motorcycle of Shiv Kumar and the tractor and Devender in a fit of rage had murdered Mukesh Kumar by directly hitting him with his tractor. Tilak Raj had also sustained injuries, while Rambir and Shiv Kumar had ran away. Accused was arrested on 21.08.2023 and thereafter, he suffered disclosure statement and got recovered his tractor. The motorcycle of Shiv Kumar was also taken into possession and both the vehicles were got examined from the FSL.

After completion of investigation, final report was presented for trial.

4. I have heard learned counsel for the petitioner as well as learned State counsel and have gone through the record.

5. Learned counsel for the petitioner contended that all the material witnesses, i.e. PW1 Vinod Kumar, PW3 Tilak Singh (complainant), PW4 Shiv Kumar (eye-witness), PW5 Rambir (eye-witness), PW6 Tilak Raj (eye-witness), and PW7 Hoi Ram (contractor) have already been examined and they have not supported the prosecution case. None of them has stated that accused had hit the deceased with his tractor, resulting in his death. Learned counsel further contended that only form