44.BA.3785.2025.doc Ajay IN IN THE THE HIGH HIGH COURT COURT OF OF JUDICATURE JUDICATURE AT AT BOMBAY BOMBAY CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION BAIL APPLICATION NO. 3785 OF 2025 Suresh Bajirav Jagtap .. Applicant Versus State of Maharashtra and Anr. .. Respondents ....................  Ms. Shubhangi Parulekar, Advocate for Applicant.  Mr. Amit A. Palkar, APP for Respondent No.1 – State.  Mr. Nikhil Maneshinde, Advocate for Respondent No.2. ......…........... CORAM : MILIND N. JADHAV, J. DATE : SEPTEMBER 07, 2026. P.C.: 1. Heard Ms. Parulekar, learned Advocate for Applicant; Mr. Palkar, learned Advocate for Respondent No.1 – State and Mr. Maneshinde, learned Advocate for Respondent No.2 – State. 2. At the outset, Mr. Maneshinde, learned Advocate for the Respondent No.2 / prosecutrix persuades me to allow him to file his Vakalatnama. The Bail Application has been heard fully and disposed by this order. Advocate for Respondent No.2 is permitted to file Vakalatnama which shall be accepted by the Registry/Department within a period of two weeks from today otherwise. 3. This is an Application under Section 439 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 seeking bail in connection with C.R.No.318 of 1 of 5 44.BA.3785.2025.doc 2022 registered with Lonikand Police Station, District Pune for offences punishable under Section 376(2)(N) of Indian Penal Code, 1860 (for short ‘IPC’) and under Section 4, (M), 5(N) and 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (for short ‘POCSO Act’). 4. Applicant before me is arraigned as Accused No.2 in the present case. Date of the incident is sometime in December 2021 as alleged by the prosecutrix. The report came to be filed against Accused No.1 who is the neighbour of the prosecutrix. The mother of the prosecutrix is the First Informant. Statement of the prosecutrix initially indicts only accused No.1. Insofar as the case made out by the prosecution as well as the prosecutrix's statement qua accused No.1 is concerned, the admitted fact is that they were both in a love relationship and therefore the incident in question is stated to be consensual in nature. Prosecutrix’s own statements show consensual relationship between parties in the house of Accused No.1 when no one was around. 5. Needless to state that one of the issues which the prosecutrix has raised is with regard to her consent having been obtained by fraud by Accused No.1 on the basis of a promise to marry her. That undoubtedly will be proven in the trial qua the Accused No.1 who is not before this Court. Insofar as indicting accused No.2 is concerned, it 2 of 5 44.BA.3785.2025.doc is on the basis of a supplementary statement of the prosecutrix recorded on 19.12.2022 one year after the date of the incident, copy of which is appended at page No.43. In the supplementary statement, in unnumbered paragraph No.4, the prosecutrix has improved upon her version qua the indictment of Accused No.2 and has also roped him in the offence. A prima facie reading of the said paragraph shows that there are three to four specific allegations and incidents mentioned therein which could not have escaped the prosecutrix’s attention and which she could have stated when she lodged the first FIR on 19.06.2022 and may be even thereafter when her statements were recorded. That is not so. Until 19.12.2022, the case is directed only against the Accused No.1. Accused No.2 is a relative of the family of prosecutrix. Family feud between the mother of prosecutrix and Accused No.2 is prima facie evident from the recorded statements. 6. Insofar as another piece of vital prima facie evidence namely the DNA report is concerned, Ms. Parulekar has brought the same to my notice. A copy of the DNA report is appended at page No.79 of the Application. The DNA report is positive qua Accused No.1 only. In such prima facie facts and circumstances of the present case, insofar as Accused No.2 is concerned, he has made out a case for grant of bail and his release on bail. Needless to state that the complicity of Accused No.2 shall be proven during trial in accordance with law. 3 of 5 44.BA.3785.2025.doc 7. Hence, in view of above prima facie observations and findings, Bail Application of Applicant is allowed subject to the following terms and conditions:- (i) Applicant – Accused No.2 – Suresh Bajirav Jagtap is directed to be immediately released from prison in connection with CR. No.318 of 2022; (ii) Applicant is directed to be released on bail on furnishing P.R. Bond of Rs.25,000/- (Rs. Twenty Five Thousand only) with one or two sureties of the like amount; (iii) Applicant shall report to the Investigating Officer at Lonikand Police Station, once every month, on the first Monday of the month between 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. until commencement of trial and thereafter shall attend all dates of hearing before the Trial Court; (iv) Applicant shall cooperate with the conduct of the trial and remain present before the Trial Court on all dates, unless specifically exempted. Applicant shall not seek unnecessary adjournments. Any such conduct shall entitle the prosecution to apply for cancellation of bail; (v) Applicant shall not leave the State of Maharashtra 4 of 5 44.BA.3785.2025.doc without prior permission of the Trial Court; (vi) Applicant shall not influence any of the witnesses or tamper with the evidence in any manner; (vii) Applicant shall keep the Investigating Officer informed of their current residential address and mobile telephone number and shall forthwith inform the Investigating Officer of any change in their residential address or mobile telephone number, as and when such change occurs; and (viii)Any breach or infraction of any of the aforesaid conditions shall entail cancellation of the bail granted to the Applicant. 8. It is clarified that the observations made in this order are limited for the purpose of granting bail only and I have not made any observations on merits of the case. The trial shall be adjudicated on the strength of the evidence led and strictly on its own merits being uninfluenced with any of the prima facie observations made hereinabove in this order. 9. Bail Application is allowed and disposed in the above terms. [ MILIND N. JADHAV, J. ] Ajay 5 of 5 AJAY TRAMBAK UGALMUGALE Digitally signed by AJAY TRAMBAK UGALMUGALE Date: 2026.09.07 19:14:13 +0530