2025:CGHC:19199 NAFR HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR MCRC No. 2765 of 2025 Lalit Verma S/o Shri Kaushal Verma Aged About 30 Years R/o Mararpara, Village- Kevachi, Police Chowki- Khandsara, Thana-Bemetara, Present Address- Junna Talab Para, Lalesara, Thana And District- Bemetara (C.G.) ... Applicant versus State Of Chhattisgarh Through The Station House Officer, Police Of Police Station - Bemetara, District - Bemetara (C.G.) ... Respondent (Cause title is taken from the CIS) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ For Applicant : Shri Mahesh Kumar Mishra, Advocate For Respondent/State : Shri Neeraj Sharma, Dy AG ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Hon'ble Shri Justice Ravindra Kumar Agrawal Order on Board 28.04.2025 1. Heard on the application filed under Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS, 2023). This is the first bail application before this Court filed by the applicants for grant of regular bail. 2. The applicant was arrested on 05.02.2024 in connection with Crime No.37 of 2024 registered at PS- Station House Officer, Bemetara, District-Bemetara, CG for the offence punishable under Sections 302, 120B, 201, and 34 of the IPC. Digitally signed by V PADMAVATHI Date: 2025.04.30 11:42:14 +0530 Mcrc 2765 of 2025 2 3. The prosecution's case is that the police of the Police Station-City Kotwali, Bemetara, received information on 03-02-2024 that a person was lying in an injured condition at Simga-Bemetara main road, near the village of Basni. The Police sent him to the hospital, but during treatment, he died. Merg was informed to the Police. Injuries have been found on the body, and near the place of incident, his broken tooth, blood-stained Gamcha and blood stains on the soil were found. During the investigation, Police came to know that three people were seen near the place of the incident, which Dikeshwar Sahu witnessed. FIR has been registered, and in the post-mortem, the cause of death of the deceased was opined due to Traumatic asphyxia as a result of aspiration of blood in the respiratory passage due to homicide. The dead body was identified as he was Vijay Verma. During the investigation, it was revealed that the deceased was having a dispute with his brother-in-law, Lalit Verma (applicant) and when his mobile call details was interrogated, the persons who connected with the applicant disclosed that he prepared a plan and hired the other co-accused persons, and gave them contract to kill the deceased. As per their plan, the co-accused persons Deva, Somesh and Gulshan have committed murder of the deceased, and thrown the weapon of offence i.e. knife in the pond. The applicant gave Rs. 2.5 Lakhs to middleman Tukaram Verma, from whom Rs. 2 Lakhs were paid to Deva, Somesh and Gulshan. Considering the evidence collected during the investigation, the present applicant and other co-accused persons were arrested and charge-sheet has been filed. Mcrc 2765 of 2025 3 4. Learned counsel for the applicant would submit that the applicant is innocent and has been falsely implicated in the offence. Deceased was brother-in-law of the applicant, and there was a matrimonial dispute between the sister of the deceased and the applicant. The Family Court had passed the order giving visitation rights to the applicant to his daughter, who was residing with her mother Pooja Verma. A day before the date of the incident, applicant had gone to the house of his wife, but she had not opened the door and had not permitted the applicant to meet his daughter. Then he gave her threatening that all this happened because of her brother, and on the very next day, the incident occurred, and the complainant party made allegation that he committed the offence. There is no evidence that the applicant has committed the offence. There is no relation of the applicant with the other co-accused persons. The statement of eye witness Dagesh Kumar Verma is recorded after about 2 ½ months. The TIP (Test identification parade) has also been conducted after about 2 ½ months. Immediately after the final rites of the deceased, his family members had gone to the police station and their statements have been recorded. All the witnesses are close relatives of the deceased, which itself shows the concoction of the prosecution’s case. The applicant is implicated in the offence only on memorandum statement of Pooja Verma, who is wife of the applicant and Tukaram Verma, who is a friend of the applicant from his childhood. The presence of the witnesses together on the highway is suspicious. There is no evidence that the present applicant had any conversation with the Mcrc 2765 of 2025 4 other accused persons except Tukaram. The prosecution is projecting the incident as a contract killing, but there is no sufficient evidence to connect the applicant with the offence in question. The applicant is in jail since 05-02-2024, and final adjudication of the case will take its own time, and therefore, the applicant may be released on bail. 5. On the other hand, learned counsel for the State opposes the submission made by learned counsel for the applicant and submits that the present case is of contract killing. The applicant hired the other accused persons through the co-accused Tukaram Verma, who is his friend from childhood. He gave Rs. 2.5 lakhs to Tukaram Verma as the contract killing amount. There is strong motive to the incident that a day before the date of the incident, he had gone to the house of his wife and gave a threat that all this is happening because of her brother, and he would kill him, and on the very next day, the incident occurred. There is sufficient material about the conspiracy in the memorandum statement of the co-accused persons and the involvement of the applicant in the offence in question. The present applicant had a continuous conversation with co-accused Tukaram Verma at the relevant point of time, who managed all the steps of the incident. From the statement of the witnesses Smt. Sunita Verma, Ravendra Verma, Pooja Verma, Ajay Verma, Duleshwari Verma, the suspicious conduct of the applicant has been disclosed. The eyewitness Dagesh Kumar Verma had seen the murder of the deceased by three accused persons. There is sufficient Mcrc 2765 of 2025 5 evidence against the applicant in the charge-sheet, and he is not entitled for bail. 6. I have heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the documents annexed with the bail application as well as the case diary. 7. Considering the rival submissions made by the parties, nature of death of the deceased, evidence available in the charge-sheet against the applicant, the statements of the witnesses and relationship between the deceased and the applicant, the statements of Smt. Sunita Verma, Ravendra Verma, Pooja Verma, Ajay Verma and Duleshwari Verma, Dagesh Kumar Verma and Digeshwar, and also the material available in the charge-sheet with respect to the motive and conspiracy, I am not inclined to release the applicant on bail. 8. Accordingly, the bail application filed by the applicant Lalit Verma is rejected. Certified copy as per rules. Sd/- (Ravindra Kumar Agrawal) JUDGE padma