- 1 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:50330 CRL.P No. 8894 of 2025 IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AT BENGALURU DATED THIS THE 2ND DAY OF DECEMBER, 2025 BEFORE THE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE S VISHWAJITH SHETTY CRIMINAL PETITION NO. 8894 OF 2025 BETWEEN: ANANDA BARDAN S/O GOPAL BARDAN AGED ABOUT 30 YEARS R/OCHANDARHOBALI DURGAPURA TALUQ BANKURA DISTRICT WEST BENGAL - 722 203. …PETITIONER (BY SRI SHIVA PRASAD S, ADV. AND SRI T.G. TIGADI, ADV.) AND: STATE OF KARNATAKA BY COTTONPET P.S. REPRESENTED BY STATE PUBLIC PROSECUTOR HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA BENGALURU - 560 001. …RESPONDENT (BY SRI CHANNAPPA EARAPPA, HCGP) THIS CRL.P IS FILED U/S 439 CR.PC (FILED U/S 483 BNSS) BY THE ADVOCATE FOR THE PETITIONER PRAYING THAT THIS HONOURABLE COURT MAY BE PLEASED TO ENLARGE THE PETITIONER / ACCUSED NO.2 ON BAIL IN CR.NO.64/2022 REGISTERED BY THE COTTONPET P.S. FOR THE ALLEGED OFFENCES P/U/S 307,302,201 R/W 34 OF IPC PENDING ON THE FILE OF LXV ADDL.CITY CIVIL AND SESSIONS JUDGE AT BENGALURU IN S.C.NO.1824/2022. Digitally signed by NANDINI M S Location: HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA - 2 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:50330 CRL.P No. 8894 of 2025 THIS PETITION, COMING ON FOR ORDERS, THIS DAY, ORDER WAS MADE THEREIN AS UNDER: CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE S VISHWAJITH SHETTY ORAL ORDER 1. Accused No.2 in SC No.1824/2022 pending before the Court of XLV Additional City Civil and Sessions Judge, Bengaluru, arising out of Crime No.64/2022 registered by Cottonpet Police Station, Bengaluru, for the offences punishable under Sections 302, 307, 201 read with Section 34 of IPC, is before this Court in the successive bail application filed under Section 483 of BNSS, 2023, seeking regular bail. 2. Heard the learned counsel for the parties. 3. FIR in Crime No.64/2022 was registered by Cottonpet Police Station, Bengaluru, initially for the offence punishable under Section 307 of IPC against accused No.1 - Ankith Kumar and others based on the first information dated 14.05.2022 received from Kasturi Reddy S, who is the friend of deceased Archana. During the course of investigation, petitioner herein was arrested on 14.05.2022 and remanded to judicial custody. Subsequently injured Archana had died in the Hospital on - 3 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:50330 CRL.P No. 8894 of 2025 15.05.2022. Thereafter, the offence punishable under Section 302 of IPC was invoked against the accused in the present case. Police after completing investigation have filed charge sheet for the aforesaid offences against two persons and petitioner is arraigned as accused No.2 in the charge sheet. His bail application filed before the jurisdictional Sessions Court was rejected and therefore, he had approached this Court in Crl.P.No.5767/2023, which was dismissed as withdrawn with liberty to approach this Court afresh after examination of CW2 and CW3 is completed before the Trial Court. Thereafter, petitioner had filed Crl.P.No.12297/2024 which was dismissed for non-prosecution on 06.02.2025. After examination of CW3 before the Trial Court as PW1, petitioner is before this Court in this successive bail application seeking regular bail. 4. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that petitioner, who has no other criminal antecedents is in custody for the last more than three and half years. As on this date, only three charge sheet witnesses have been examined out of the 43 charge sheet witnesses cited in the present case. CW3, who is the alleged eye witnesses to the incident in question has not - 4 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:50330 CRL.P No. 8894 of 2025 made any allegation as against petitioner herein. Petitioner's name is not found in the FIR. Accordingly, he prays to allow the petition. 5. Per contra, learned HCGP has opposed the petition. He submits that CW2 Sanjana is the injured eye witness and her examination is yet to be done before the Trial Court. Earlier petition filed by the petitioner was dismissed as withdrawn with liberty to the petitioner to renew his bail application after CW2 and CW3 are examined. Accordingly, he prays to dismiss the petition. 6. In the first information which was filed on 14.05.2022 which had resulted in registering FIR in Crime No.64/2022 against Ankith Kumar and others, it is averred that on 14.05.2022 at about 03.00 a.m., first informant received a phone call from Sanjana (CW2), who allegedly informed that accused No.1 - Ankith Kumar had assaulted her and her friend Archana with a knife and had caused injury. Thereafter, first informant had visited the Hospital in which the injured were admitted and had collected information from injured Sanjana about the incident in question and subsequently, had - 5 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:50330 CRL.P No. 8894 of 2025 approached the police and submitted her first information. In the first information, there is no allegation of the presence of anybody else at the spot of crime, except accused No.1 and it is under these circumstances, FIR was registered against Ankith Kumar. Since the first informant suspected that Ankit Kumar could have assaulted the injured at the instance of somebody else in the FIR, "others" are shown as accused No.2. During the course of investigation, accused Nos.1 and 2 were arrested and after completing investigation, charge sheet has been filed against them. 7. As per the charge sheet allegations, on 13.05.2022 at about 11:45 p.m., accused Nos.1 and 2 had met Sanjana and Archana near the underpass at railway station in majestic area and they had brought them to Shivas Lodge near Shantala Circle and had sought sexual favour from them. At about 01:30 a.m. on 14.05.2022, there was a quarrel between the accused persons with Sanjana and Archana regarding payment of money and accused No.2 allegedly had caught hold of Sanjana's hair and accused No.1 allegedly assaulted her with a knife. When Archana tried to intervene, accused No.1 also - 6 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:50330 CRL.P No. 8894 of 2025 allegedly assaulted Archana with the very same knife and caused grievous injuries. Archana, who had suffered grievous injuries had died in Hospital on 15.02.2022 at about 12.45 a.m. 8. From a reading of the allegations found in the charge sheet, it is seen that allegation of assaulting Sanjana (CW2) and deceased Archana with a knife is only as against accused No.1 - Ankith Kumar. The only allegation against the petitioner herein is that he had caught hold of the hair of injured Sanjana (CW2) and except the same, there is no other allegation against him. CW3 - Shivraj is said to be the receptionist in Shivas Lodge, in which the incident in question had taken place. He has been examined in the present case as PW1. During the course of his examination-in-chief, he has made allegation only as against accused No.1 and he has not even spoken about the presence of accused No.2 at the time of incident. It appears that therefore, he was treated as hostile witness by the prosecution and has been cross-examined. 9. CW1 is the first informant in the present case and CW2 is her friend, who is the alleged injured eye witness in the present case. CW1 and CW2 have not been examined before the Trial - 7 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:50330 CRL.P No. 8894 of 2025 Court, because the prosecution could not trace them and therefore, the Trial Court has issued non-bailable warrant and proclamation orders against them. 10. In the case of Javed Gulam Nabi Shaikh v. State of Maharashtra and Another - 2024 SCC OnLine SC 1693 at paragraph No.19, the Hon'ble Supreme Court has observed as follows: "19. If the State or any prosecuting agency including the court concerned has no wherewithal to provide or protect the fundamental right of an accused to have a speedy trial as enshrined under Article 21 of the Constitution then the State or any other prosecuting agency should not oppose the plea for bail on the ground that the crime committed is serious. Article 21 of the Constitution applies irrespective of the nature of the crime". 11. Petitioner is in custody in the present case for the last more than three and half years. Undisputedly, he has no other criminal antecedents. Out of the 43 charge sheet witnesses cited in the present case, only 3 charge sheet witnesses have been examined as on this date. Considering the aforesaid - 8 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:50330 CRL.P No. 8894 of 2025 aspects of the matter, more so, the period of petitioner's incarceration, I am of the opinion that his prayer for grant of regular bail in this successive bail petition needs to be granted. Accordingly, the following order:- 12. The petition is allowed. The petitioner is directed to be enlarged on bail in SC No.1824/2022 pending before the Court of XLV Additional City Civil and Sessions Judge, Bengaluru, arising out of Crime No.64/2022 registered by Cottonpet Police Station, Bengaluru, for the offences punishable under Sections 302, 307, 201 read with Section 34 of IPC, subject to the following conditions: a) Petitioner shall execute a personal bond for a sum of Rs.1,00,000/- with two sureties, out of which one shall be a local surety, for the likesum, to the satisfaction of the jurisdictional Court; b) The petitioner shall appear regularly on all the dates of hearing before the Trial Court unless the Trial Court exempts his appearance for valid reasons; c) The petitioner shall not directly or indirectly threaten or tamper with the prosecution witnesses; - 9 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:50330 CRL.P No. 8894 of 2025 d) The petitioner shall not involve in similar offences in future; e) The petitioner shall not leave the jurisdiction of the Trial Court without permission of the said Court until the case registered against him is disposed off. Sd/- (S VISHWAJITH SHETTY) JUDGE DN List No.: 1 Sl No.: 1