- 1 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:51812 CRL.P No. 15887 of 2025 IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AT BENGALURU DATED THIS THE 4TH DAY OF DECEMBER, 2025 BEFORE THE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE MOHAMMAD NAWAZ CRIMINAL PETITION NO. 15887 OF 2025 BETWEEN: PRAMOD R S/O LATE V. R. CHIKKARANGAIAH, AGED ABOUT 32 YEARS, R/AT VADERAHALLI, D KALKERE POST, DANDINASHIVARA HOBLI, TURUVEKERE TALUK, MUGULUR, TUMKUR DISTRICT-572221 (ADDRESS SHOWN AS IN THE ID PROOF OF THE PETITIONER) …PETITIONER (BY SRI. MANJUNATH M R.,ADVOCATE) AND: 1. THE STATE OF KARNATAKA MAHALAKSHMILAYOUT P.S., BENGALURU, REP BY STATE PUBLIC PROSECUTOR, HIGH COURT BUILDING, BENGALURU-560001. 2. SMT ANJALAMMA W/O LATE MARIMUTHU, AGED ABOUT 57 YEARS, R/AT NO.216, 4TH CROSS, SANJAYGANDHI NAGAR, KAMALANAGARA, BASAVESHWARANAGARA, BENGALURU-560086. …RESPONDENTS (BY SRI. ANOOP KUMAR. M. V., HCGP FOR R1) Digitally signed by LAKSHMI T Location: High Court of Karnataka - 2 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:51812 CRL.P No. 15887 of 2025 THIS CRL.P IS FILED U/S 482 CR.PC (FILED U/S 528 BNNS) PRAYING TO QUASH THE ENTIRE PROCEEDINGS INITIATED AGAINST THE PETITIONER IS CONCERNED IN SPLIT UP CASE S.C.NO.1904/2023 ARISING FROM MAIN CASE S.C.NO.1757/2018 PENDING ON THE FILE OF HONBLE LXVII ADDL.CITY CIVIL AND SESSION JUDGE, BENGALURU FOR THE OFFENCE P/U/S 143,147,148,302,120(B), R/W 149 OF IPC REGISTERED BY MAHALAKSHMI LAYOUT P.S. BENGALURU IN CR.NO.188/2018. THIS PETITION, COMING ON FOR ORDERS, THIS DAY, ORDER WAS MADE THEREIN AS UNDER: CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE MOHAMMAD NAWAZ ORAL ORDER Heard the learned counsel for petitioner, learned High Court Government Pleader for the State and perused the material on record. 2. Petitioner, an absconding accused against whom split up charge sheet is filed, is before this Court seeking to quash the proceedings pending against him, on the ground that there are no materials collected against him during investigation and the trial held against accused Nos.1 to 11 and 13 have been ended in acquittal. - 3 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:51812 CRL.P No. 15887 of 2025 3. A case in Crime No.188/2018 of Mahalakshmipuram Police Station, Bengaluru City was registered for the offence Punishable under Section 302 read with Section 34 of IPC against three named accused and others. Charge sheet was filed against 14 accused for the offence Punishable under Section 143, 147, 148, 302, 120-B read with Section 149 of IPC, wherein, petitioner is shown as accused No.14. 4. It is the case of prosecution that on 17.06.2018 at about 06:00 p.m. near the drinage slab, situated at House No.4, 21st 'B' Cross, 15th Main, J.C.Nagar, all the accused having conspired to commit the murder of one Manikanta @ Manivasu @ Doddakatu and with that common object, being the members of unlawful assembly, assaulted him with deadly weapons and committed his murder. Accused Nos.1 to 9 were tried in S.C.No.1757/2018 and accused Nos.10 and 11 in S.C.No.995/2021. The Court of LXVII Additional City Civil and Sessions Judge, Bengaluru City vide common - 4 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:51812 CRL.P No. 15887 of 2025 judgment, dated 16.11.2022, was pleased to acquit them for the charged offences, holding that the material placed on record would not suffice to prove the guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt. Similarly accused No.13, who faced trial in S.C.No.1472/2022 was acquitted vide judgment dated 23.02.2024. Since, the petitioner/accused No.14 was absconding, the case against him was split up from the main case in S.C.No.1757/2018 and it is said to be pending on the file of the Court of LXVII Additional City Civil and Sessions Judge, Bengaluru in split up S.C.No.1904/2023. 5. Firstly, it is pertinent to mention that in the charge sheet there are no specific overt acts attributed against the petitioner. He has been arraigned as an accused with the aid of Section 120-B read with Section 149 of IPC, on the ground that he too conspired to commit the offence along with other accused and he was a member of un-lawful assembly. The specific over acts of inflicting the injuries to the deceased are against accused - 5 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:51812 CRL.P No. 15887 of 2025 Nos.1 to 6, who faced the trial and undisputedly, the said accused are acquitted by the trial Court. 6. The learned Sessions Judge while passing the judgment of acquittal, in the above noted Sessions Cases, has taken into consideration the hostility of the eye witnesses and other material witnesses in the case. The said judgments of acquittal of the co-accused has attained finality. In the facts and circumstance, no purpose will be served in continuing the criminal proceedings against the petitioner in the split up case. 7. It is useful to refer to the judgment in 'Javed Shaukat Ali Qureshi V/s. State of Gujarat' reported in 2023 INSC 829, wherein, the Hon'ble Apex Court has held at Paragraph No.15 as under: "When there is similar or identical evidence of eyewitnesses against two accused by ascribing them the same or similar role, the Court cannot convict one accused and acquit the other. In such a case, the cases of both the accused will be governed by the principle of parity. This principle means that the Criminal Court should decide like cases alike, and in such cases, the - 6 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:51812 CRL.P No. 15887 of 2025 Court cannot make a distinction between the two accused, which will amount to discrimination." 8. For the above reasons, the following:- ORDER i) Petition is allowed. ii) The entire proceedings against the petitioner / accused No.14 in split-up case in S.C.No.1904/2023 arising from S.C.No.1757/2018, pending on the file of the Court of XLVII Additional City Civil and Sessions Judge, Bengaluru are quashed. I.A.No.1/2025 is disposed of. I.A.No.2/2025 is allowed. Sd/- (MOHAMMAD NAWAZ) JUDGE LDC List No.: 1 Sl No.: 78