Bail applicants were granted relief due to lack of compelling evidence linking them to murder and conspiracy charges.

1. Both these applications are being disposed of by common order as they arise out of the same crime.

2. Facts leading to these applications in nutshell can be stated as under :-

Deceased Janardan Govindrao Sathe was the father of the informant. Akash Janardan Sathe was the brother of the informant. On account of property dispute, accused Vilas Govind Sathe and Gopal Govind Sathe (both uncles of the informant) and others committed murder of Akash Janardan Sathe on account of which Crime No. 14/2019 came to be registered and the said case is pending before the Sessions Court.

3. It is alleged by the informant that before Diwali festival, brother of Karansingh Gaherwal (accused) threatened the mother and sister of the informant to withdraw the sessions case otherwise they would be eliminated. After three days, Vishnu Pandhari Sathe, Dhanraj Nagnath Sathe and Prem Gyanba Moregave similar threats to the informant and his father.

4. On 6th November, 2019, at 6.00 pm, deceased Janardan Sathe left the feld for home on Jupiter Scooter. Informant was following him on motorcycle. A black colour Tata Safari car bearing registration No. MH-12-DM-7378 overtook the informant. A little while later, he found that his father had fallen by the side of the road in injured condition and the Tata Safari car had gone off the road and got stuck in the swamp beside the road. Two boys alighted from the vehicle. One of them was having a knife. He ran away by brandishing the knife. Villagers chased the other one and caught him. He disclosed his name as Gaurav Kailas Lohar. Deceased Janardan was immediately shifted to the hospital where he was declared dead on arrival. According to the informant, Vilas Sathe, Govind Sathe and their family members are behind the bars in connection with Crime No. 14/2019. They hatched a criminal conspiracy to eliminate deceased Janardan Sathe. Accordingly, the main conspirator i.e. accused Pooja Sathe who is the daughter of Vilas Sathe hatched a conspiracy to commit the murder of the deceased Janardan Sathe. For that purpose, she took the help of her boy friend accused Rahul Jadhav and applicant Nishant Jagtap who ekol HkkÅ is the maternal cousin ( ) of accused Rahul Jadhav. Accused Rahul Jadhav had given cash of Rs. 4,00,000/- to applicant Nishant Jagtap and the car involved in the crime was purchased. Accused Gaurav Lohar and the accused who ran away (whose name was later on disclosed as Ashish Jadhav) were given contract to kill deceased Janardan Sathe. Accordingly, they had stayed in a lodge at Latur and executed the plan. Accused Ashish Jadhav was driving the Tata Safari car at the time of the incident. On these allegations, First Information Report came to be registered under Sections 302, 120-B of the Indian Penal Code vide Crime No. 0382/2019 registered with MIDC Police Station, Dist. Latur against the present applicants and other accused.

5. Heard Shri More, learned counsel for the applicant in Bail Application No. 399/2021, Shri Deshpande, learned counsel holding for Miss Priyanka Deshpande, learned counsel for applicant in Bail Application No. 736/2021 and Shri Nawrade, learned APP for the State in both the applications.

6. Learned counsel Shri More and Shri Deshpande submitted that name of the applicants do not fnd place in the First Information Report. Initially, the Medical Offcer in whose hospital the deceased was admitted, reported to the police station that it was a case of accidental death. On receiving information about the accident, police offcers rushed to the spot. Hospital record and PM report also indicate that the deceased had sustained injury in a road traffc