IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA

DHARWAD BENCH

DATED THIS THE 5^th DAY OF JANUARY 2021

BEFORE

THE HON’BLE MR.JUSTICE K. NATARAJAN

CRIMINAL PETITION NO.101592/2020

BETWEEN:

RAMESH S/O IRAPPA KATTI

AGE 25 YEARS, OCC. STUDENT,

R/O. M. CHANDARAGI, TQ. RAMADURGA,

DIST. BELAGAVI. 591123

.. PETITIONER

(BY SRI. S.M.MUCHHANDI & SMT. SUMITA B.PATIL, ADVOCATES)

AND:

THE STATE OF KARNATAKA

THE POLICE INPECTOR SAVADATTI,

POLICE STATION,

REPRESENTED BY ITS STATE PUBLIC PROSECUTOR,

HIGH COURT BUILDING, HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA,

AT DHARWAD BENCH,

.. RESPONDENT

(BY SMT. SEEMA SHIVA NAIK, HCGP)

THIS CRIMINAL PETITION IS FILED UNDER SECTION 439 OF

CR.P.C.

SEEKING

TO

ALLOW

THE

PETITION

AND

THE

PETITIONER/ACCUSED NO.5 MAY KINDLY BE ENLARGED ON BAIL

IN C.C.NO.1109/2020 OF MURAGOD P.S. CRIME NO.149/2020

2

OFFENCE UNDER SECTION 143, 147, 148, 120B, 341, 364, 302

AND 201 READ WITH 149 OF IPC PENDING ON THE FILE OF THE II

ADDL.

CIVIL

JUDGE

AND

JMFC

COURT

SAVADATTI

DIST.

BELAGAVI.

THIS

PETITION

COMING

ON

FOR

ORDERS

THROUGH

PHYSICAL HEARING/VIDEO CONFERENCING HEARING THIS DAY,

THE COURT MADE THE FOLLOWING:

O R D E R

The petitioner/accused No.5 has filed this petition under

Section 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, for grant of

bail in Crime No.149/2020 registered by the Murgod Police for the

offence punishable under Sections 143, 147, 148, 341, 364, 365,

120B, 302 and 201 read with Section 149 of the Indian Penal Code,

1860 (hereinafter referred to as the ‘IPC’ for brevity).

2.

The case of the prosecution is that the respondent

police filed the charge-sheet against 5 accused for the aforesaid

offence on the complaint filed by one Sri. Neelakanta Neelappa

Doddagirennavar, the elder brother of the deceased Bhootappa, on

02.07.2020. It was alleged in the complaint that the accused

persons kidnapped his brother and committed his murder and threw

3

the dead body into Ghataprabha river. During investigation, it was

revealed that the deceased-Bhootappa had illicit intimacy with

Surekha, who is the niece of accused Nos.1 and 2. On 01.07.2020

when Bhootappa and Surekha were proceeding on a motorcycle in

order to go to Yaragatti, at that time, accused No.1 and 5 stopped

them and assaulted Bhootappa as well as Surekha and later

accused No.1 is said to have called accused Nos.2 and 3 and

kidnapped the deceased along with Surekha to Itanal and they

detained both Bhootappa-deceased and Surekha in separate room

and assaulted Bhootappa and thereafter causing his murder, they

took the dead body along with the motorcycle of the deceased and

threw into the Ghataprabha river. After registering the complaint

against accused Nos.1 and 2 and the police after arresting them,

on their voluntary statement, have recovered the dead body of

Bhootappa and later it was revealed that accused Nos.3 to 5 had

also involved in the commission of the offence. Therefore, the

charge sheet came to be filed. The present petitioner was arrested

on 05.07.2020 and he was remanded to the judicial custody. He

approached the learned Sessions Judge in Crl.Misc.No.1754/2020

4

for grant of bail which came to be dismissed on 30.11.2020.

Hence, the petitioner is before this Court.

3.

Sri. S.M. Muchhandi, learned counsel appearing for the

petitioner contended that the petitioner/accused No.5 is innocent of

the offences alleged. He has been falsely implicated in the case.

The name of the petitioner is not found in the FIR and even as per

the complaint, one Kareppa telephoned the complainant and told

about the assault by accused Nos.1 and 2 but the said Kareppa has

not been examined by the police. Even as per the allegations, the

deceased himself telephoned to the complainant and told the name

of accused Nos.1 and 2 but not the name of the present petitioner.

Even on the perusal of the charge sheet, the overt act aga