Shri. Moti@ Motilal S/O, Ramesh Baghe And Others v. State Of Mah. Thr. Pso, Khamgaon (Rural) Ps, Tah. Khamgaon, Dist. Buldhana. And Another

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY,

NAGPUR BENCH, NAGPUR.

CRIMINAL APPEAL NO.

OF 20

1. Shri Moti @ Motilal S/o. Ramesh Baghe, Age- 33 Yrs., Occ: Agriculture,

2. Shri Vitthal S/o. Ramesh Baghe, Age- 32 Yrs., Occ: Agriculture,

3. Shri Jayram S/o. Vishnu Mundale, Age- 38 Yrs., Occ: Agriculture, All are R/o. At - Pedka Patonda, Tah - Kamgaon, Dist. Buldhana.

.... APPELLANTS .

// VERSUS //

1. The State of Maharashtra, Through Police Station Officer, Khamgaon (Rural) Police Station, Tah. Khamgaon, Dist. Buldhana.

2. Smt. Mangala W/o. Sanjay Tayade, Age- 27 Yrs., Occ. : Labour, R/o. At - Pedka Patonda, Tah - Kamgaon, Dist. Buldhana.

.... RESPONDENT S .

____________________________________________________ Shri S.N.Nandeshwar, Advocate for Appellants. Shri S.D.Sirpurkar, A.P.P. for the respondent/State. ____________________________________________________

CORAM : ANIL S. KILOR , J.

DATED : APRIL 07, 2022.

ORAL

JUDGMENT

:

1.

In this appeal the order dated 08/12/2021 passed by learned Additional Sessions Judge, Khamgaon, District : Buldana in A.B.A. No.508 of 2021, rejecting the application for grant of prearrest bail is under challenge. 2.

In this case, there are counter FIRs namely Crime No. 425 of 2021 and the present F.I.R. i.e. Crime No.423 of 2021, registered with Police Station Khamgaon (Rural), District : Buldana. In both the FIRs the alleged incident is of 29/10/2021 and the F.I.R. came to be lodged on 26/11/2021 i.e. after more than one month. While considering the Criminal Appeal No.550 of 2021 arising out of Crime No.425 of 2021, this Court has observed that the complaint was lodged out of political rivalry between the two groups. This Court allowed the said Criminal Appeal and granted pre-arrest bail to the accused persons in the said crime.

3.

I have heard the learned counsel for the appellants and the learned A.P.P. None for the respondent No.2, though served. 4.

In the case in hand, I have perused the case diary and also the contents of the F.I.R. The alleged incident is dated 29/10/2021, whereas the complaint was lodged on 26/11/2021 i.e. after more than one month. However, no justifiable explanation has been offered by the complainant for delay in lodging the F.I.R. It is further improbable that all the accused persons in chorus, while abusing the complainant on caste, have used the same words at the same time. This fact is sufficient to prima-facie arrive at the conclusion that the present F.I.R. is the outcome of the political rivalry. In that view of the matter, as there is no prima-facie, incriminating material available to corroborate the allegations attracting the provisions of the Atrocities Act, the bar under Section 18 of the Atrocities Act would not come in the way of the appellants. Furthermore, as the custodial interrogation is not

necessary in this case, I am of the opinion that the appeal needs to be allowed. Accordingly, I pass the following order: i) The Criminal Appeal is allowed.

ii) The order dated 08/12/2021 passed by learned Additional Sessions Judge, Khamgaon in A.B.A. No.508 of 2021 is hereby quashed and set aside. iii) The order dated 16th December 2021 granting adinterim anticipatory bail is hereby confirmed with modification that the appellants shall attend the concerned Police Station, as and when their presence is required.

The Criminal Appeal stands disposed of accordingly. ( ANIL S. KILOR, J ) RRaut...

Signed By:RAJIV BABARAO RAUT PRIVATE SECRETARY