12-apeal-160-2021.odt

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY

CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION

CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 160 OF 2021

Rohit @ Dadya Sudam Kadam

… Appellant

Versus

The State of Maharashtra and Anr.

… Respondents

Mr. Ranjeet Patil, for the Appellant.

Mrs. P.P. Shinde, APP for the Respondent No.1 – State.

Mr. Sariputta Sarnath, for Respondent No.2-Original Complainant.

CORAM : REVATI MOHITE DERE &

V. G. BISHT, JJ.

DATE : 24^th JUNE 2022

P. C. :

1

Heard learned counsel for the parties.

2

By this Appeal, preferred under Section 14A of the

Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities)

Act, 1989, the appellant seeks his enlargement on bail in connection

with C.R. No. 225 of 2019 registered with the M.I.D.C. Kupwad

Police Station, District-Sangli for the alleged offences punishable

under Sections 302, 301 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 3(2)

(v) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of

Atrocities) Act, 1989.

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3

Perused the papers. The prosecution case rests entirely on

circumstantial evidence. It appears from the statement of the

complainant i.e. Laxman Devappa Kavthekar (grandfather of the

deceased-Shreyas) that on 04/11/2019 at about 4:15 p.m., he saw his

grandson Shreyas(deceased) with the appellant going on a

motorcycle. It appears that thereafter, Shreyas did not return home.

According to the complainant, he went to his daughter-in-law’s

house and enquired, whether Shreyas had come, however, as he had

not returned, he started making calls to the relatives and to Shreyas’s

friends, so as to find out his whereabouts. Ultimately, on

08/11/2019 the complainant’s daughter-in-law i.e. mother of the

shreyas (deceased) lodged an N.C. complaint with the M.I.D.C.

Kupwad police Station.

4

The complainant has alleged in his complaint/FIR, that on

10/11/2019, he and his family members visited Shreya’s close friends

including a girl, as well as appellant’s house to find out, the

whereabouts of Shreyas. It further alleged that the appellant’s

parents informed them, that he (appellant) had gone to MIDC

Kupwad for duty. According to the complainant, on 13/11/2019

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the police informed the family, that one dead body was found

floating on the pond. The said dead body was identified as that of

Shreyas. Pursuant thereto, Laxman Kavthekar (grandfather) lodged

the complaint/FIR as against the appellant on 13/11/2019.

5

Learned Counsel for the appellant submits that the said

evidence of last seen cannot be believed as Shreyas’s mother had not

disclosed in the missing complaint dated 08/11/2019, that the

deceased was last seen with the appellant. He further submits that

even in the complaint, the complainant has not stated that he had

disclosed to his daughter-in-law that the deceased was last seen by

him with the appellant. Learned Counsel submits that if the same

was true, the complainant would not have visited the appellant’s

house on 10/11/2019 i.e. after about 2 days after deceased went

missing. He submits that thus, the circumstance of the appellant

being last seen in the company of the Shreyas (deceased) cannot be

believed. Prima facie, it is doubtful, whether the deceased was last

seen in the company of the applicant, having regard to the FIR, and

the missing complaint. Another circumstance relied upon by the

prosecution is, finding of the dead body of the deceased at the

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