1 2025:CGHC:18535 NAFR HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR MCRC No. 3148 of 2025 Mohan Pratap @ Mohan Yadav S/o Dinesh Jagat Aged About 18 Years R/o Village Karmitikra, Police Station Patthalgaon, District Jashpur, Chhattisgarh. --- Applicant versus State Of Chhattisgarh Through Station House Officer, Police Station Patthalgaon, District Jashpur, Chhattisgarh. ---- Respondent For Applicant : Mr. Ashish Gupta, Advocate For Respondent : Mr. Keshav Prasad Gupta, Govt. Advocate Hon'ble Shri Justice Parth Prateem Sahu Order On Board 24/04/2025 1. Applicant has filed this first bail application under Section 483 of the Bhartiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 for grant of regular bail as he has been arrested in connection with Crime No. 225 of 2022, registered at Police Station – Patthalgaon, District – Jashpur (C.G.) for offence punishable under Section 120-B, 201, 302, 379, 412, 496 of the Indian Penal Code. 2. Case of the prosecution, in brief, is that in the midnight of 09.07.2022, applicant along with other co-accused persons, some of whom are juvenile in conflict with law, hatched a conspiracy to steal the motorcycle of deceased Iqbal Yadav and in furtherance of the BALRAM PRASAD DEWANGAN Digitally signed by BALRAM PRASAD DEWANGAN Date: 2025.04.25 14:28:57 +0530 2 conspiracy, applicant administered liquor to the deceased, thereafter, they strangulated the deceased with an intention to kill him and, then, they stole the said motorcycle of deceased. It is further case of the prosecution that applicant along with other co-accused took the dead body of deceased on motorcycle to Mainpart Hills near Kundi Jharia Nala and thrown it in order to conceal the evidence. After 3 days of the incident, applicant along with other co-accused went back to the place of occurrence and set the dead body on fire by pouring petrol. During the course of investigation, on the basis of memorandum statement of Sumit Barwa and subsequently the memorandum statement of applicant, burnt body of the deceased alongwith other articles was recovered from Mainpart Kumarta Hills near Kundi Jharia Nala. 3. Learned counsel for applicant submits that applicant has been falsely implicated in this case. He has not committed any offence as alleged. The applicant has been made accused only on the basis of the memorandum statement of co-accused Sumit Barwa. Though the police has recorded memorandum statement of applicant and some articles have been seized from possession of applicant, however, the witnesses to the memorandum and seizure have been examined before the trial Court and they have not supported the case of prosecution. He contended that there are as many as 10 accused persons, in which six juvenile accused have been enlarged on bail by this Court in Cr.R. No.1096 of 2022 and Cr.R. No.1171 of 2022 vide order dated 27.01.2023 and 3 accused persons have been enlarged on bail by this Court in M.Cr.C. No.10585 of 2022 vide order dated 10.04.2023. He contended that case of the applicant is also on same footing that of accused persons who have been enlarged on bail in 3 M.Cr.C. No.10585 of 2022. Applicant is in jail since 01.09.2022 and thereby he has suffered more than two and half years of pretrial detention. Hence, applicant be enlarged on bail. 4. Learned State counsel opposes the submission made by learned counsel for applicant, however, he do not dispute the submission with respect to grant of bail to the other co-accused persons. He submits that according to the challan, incriminating articles have been seized from possession of applicant and there is admission of applicant of commission of offence in his memorandum statement. He further submits that statement of P.W.-2 and P.W.-3, witnesses of seizure and memorandum, is subject matter of appreciation by the trial Court. 5. I have heard learned counsel for the parties. 6. Taking into consideration the facts and circumstances of the case, nature of allegation, material collected by the police and also considering the period of pretrial detention of applicant since 01.09.2022 and further taking into consideration the fact that other co- accused persons have been enlarged on bail by this Court in M.Cr.C. No.10585 of 2022 vide order dated 10.04.2023 and in Cr.R. No.1096 of 2022 and Cr.R. No. 1171 of 2022 vide order dated 27.01.2023, without commenting anything on merits of the case, I am inclined to enlarge the applicant on bail. 7. Accordingly, the bail application filed under Section 483 of Bhartiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 is allowed. It is directed that the applicant shall be released on regular bail upon furnishing a bail bond in the sum of Rs.25,000/- with one local surety in the like sum to the satisfaction of the Court below on the conditions that:- 4 a). Applicant shall appear before the trial Court regularly on each and every date, unless exempted from appearance. (b). Applicant shall not, in any manner, tamper with the prosecution witnesses. c). If the applicant is found involved in similar offence in the future, it will be open for the State to apply for cancellation of Bail. Certified copy as per rules. Sd/- (Parth Prateem Sahu) Judge Balram