IN THE HIGH COURT OF BOMBAY AT GOA

CRIMINAL MISC. APPLICATION ( BAIL ) NO. 41 OF 2007

SHRI. SUNIL THUKRAL AT PRESENT

LODGED IN JUDICIAL CUSTODY,

MAPUSA, GOA.

... Appellant

Versus

STATE THROUGH P.I. ATTACHED TO

CALANGUTE POLICE STATION

... Respondent

Mr. M. Teles, Advocate with Mr. G. Teles, Advocate for the Appellant.

Ms. Winnie Coutinho, Public Prosecutor for the State.

Coram:- N. A. BRITTO, J.

Date:-

29th March, 2007

ORAL ORDER

Heard Shri Teles, the learned Advocate on behalf of the applicant

and Ms. Coutinho, the Public Prosecutor on behalf of the respondent.

2. The applicant herein is accused no.1 in Sessions Case no.25/06,

which has been filed against him along with one Anant Yeshwant

Volvoikar, as accused no.2, under Section 302, 120(b) I.P.C. and Sections

3 read with Section 25, 27 of the Arms Act, 1958, with the allegation that

the applicant/A1 along with the said Anant Yeshwant Volvoikar/A2 and

Ashpak Bengre, who was absconding and who has now been arrested on

13.03.2007, by Chembur Police Station, Mumbai, entered into a criminal

conspiracy to cause the death of Pravin Grover and Ashpak Bengre/A3,

was hired as a contract killer and who shot dead the deceased Pravin

Grover on 11.07.2006.

3. The applicant/A1 is a cousin of the deceased Pravin Grover. The

applicant/A1, Anant Yeshwant Volvoikar/A2 and the deceased Pravin

Grover were the Directors of Candolim Developers Private Limited, who

owned Perola Do Mar Resort situated at Candolim. On 11.07.2006, at

about 18.45 hours, the said Pravin Grover was shot dead at the said resort

and a complaint came to be lodged of the said incident, by one Raviraj

Prabhu.

4. The applicant/A1 applied for bail to the Court of Sessions but his

application came to be rejected by Order dated 04.11.2006, and therefore,

has now approached this Court for bail. The applicant/A1 and the said

Anant Yeshwant Volvoikar/A2, have been strongly suspected by the

family members of the deceased as the persons behind the murder having

committed the same by engaging a contract killer, namely the said Ashpak

Bengre/A3. There is no dispute that the postmortem report of the deceased

confirms that the death of the deceased Pravin Grover was due to

haemorrhagic shock as a result of fire arm injuries.

5. There appear to have been disputes and differences amongst the

above said three Directors in connection with the running of the Perola Do

Mar Resort, Candolim, as stated by the widow of the deceased. There

were disputes between the deceased Pravin Grover and the applicant/A1

as well as Anant Yeshwant Volvoikar/A2, over the said Resort and Civil

and Criminal cases were pending in various Courts. As can be seen from

the statement of the said widow Smt. Amita Grover, there were three

cases pending in the Court regarding the dispute over the Resort and the

applicant/A1 was threatening the deceased that he would show him and

Anant Yeshwant Volvoikar/A2, who was accompanying him, and, her

deceased husband, had filed cases against the said two accused and it

appears that at one stage, on 04.06.2005, the applicant/A1 had obtained

possession of the said Resort by virtue of interim order from the Civil

Court and, thereafter, by virtue of the Order of this Court, the deceased

had obtained possession of the said Resort. It also appears that there were

three incidents taken place at Panaji, Miramar and Candolim, in which

deceased was sought to be attacked and, according to Smt. Amita Grover,

it is the applicant/A1, who attacked her husband through goondas and

regarding which there were cases pending and the details of which can be

found in Para 8 of the reply filed, dated 07.03.2007.

6. The learned Sessions Judge has denied bail to the accused

observing that the statements of the widow, the children and the father of

the deceased, prima facie, indicated that the accused was consistently

threatening to cause death of the deceased and his family members and,