1 25-Cr.BA-1107-2026 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY NAGPUR BENCH, NAGPUR. CRIMINAL APPLICATION [B.A.] NO. 1107 OF 2026 Sahil S/o Sanjay Dhoke -- VERSUS -- The State of Maharashtra __________________________________________________________________________ Office Notes, Office Memoranda of Coram, appearances, Court's orders of directions Court's or Judge's orders. and Registrar's Orders. Mr. M.A. Deo, Advocate for the Applicant. Mr. N.B. Jawade, A.P.P. for the Non-applicant/State. CORAM : M.M. NERLIKAR, J. DATE : SEPTEMBER 21, 2026. Heard. 2. The present application is filed seeking regular bail in Crime No.215/2026 for the offences punishable under Sections 310(2), 311, 312 and 332(b) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, registered with Police Station Gittikhadan, District Nagpur. 3. The prosecution case, as set out in the First Information Report (F.I.R.), is that on April 3, 2026, at approximately 13:20 hours, six to eight unknown persons with their faces covered with dupattas entered the informant's house. At the relevant time, the informant's minor son, Shreyas, was watching television in the hall, and his Piyush Mahajan 2026:BHC-NAG:12534 2 25-Cr.BA-1107-2026 grandmother, Prabha, was sleeping in her room. It is alleged that two of the intruders brandished knives, threatened Shreyas with death, and forcefully demanded money, while another grabbed him by the neck. Upon being led toward the almirah, a neighbor, Shubhangi Chinchudde, shouted "thief, thief," and another neighbor, Pawan Palaspagar, arrived at the spot. Panic-stricken, the intruders fled the scene, taking with them an amount of Rs.40,000 (comprising eighty Rs.500 currency notes) from a pouch inside the almirah. Based on these allegations, F.I.R. came to be registered. 4. The learned counsel for the applicant submits that in the entire charge-sheet there is nothing to suggest that the applicant is involved in the alleged dacoity. He submits that there is CCTV footage, however, all the accused persons have been shown to have masked their faces. Only on the basis of their clothes, the applicant was implicated as an accused. One co-accused, Nikhil Patil, was arrested, and thereafter, he disclosed the name of the other accused persons, and on that basis their arrest was made. He further submits that thereafter a house search took place and clothes were seized by the investigating agency. There is no other material to connect the applicant with the alleged crime. The Piyush Mahajan 3 25-Cr.BA-1107-2026 other circumstance is in the nature of call records wherein it is alleged that the applicant has made certain calls to Nikhil Patil and one Sandip Thakre, however, he submits that a similarly situated person, namely co-accused Rishabh Vaishya, has been released by the trial Court considering the call details. Under such circumstances, he prays for the grant of bail to the applicant. 5. On the other hand, the learned A.P.P. vehemently opposes the application and submits that the applicant was seen in the CCTV footage, though the applicant had masked his face. He further submits that during the house search of the applicant, the clothes which were worn at the time of the incident were seized from the house of the applicant. He further invited my attention to the inspection panchanama of the CCTV footage wherein one person was wearing a black colored full shirt and a black colored pant, and therefore, he submits that considering this circumstance and the fact that there are several calls between the accused persons, the applicant does not deserve to be granted bail. 6. I have considered the submissions of both the sides. It appears that there are two circumstances against the applicant that though his face was masked, however, he was wearing a black Piyush Mahajan 4 25-Cr.BA-1107-2026 colored full shirt and a black colored pant, and the another circumstance is the call detail records wherein it was shown that the applicant has made 21 calls to Nikhil Patil and 10 calls to another co- accused, Sandeep Thakre. No doubt, so far as these calls are concerned, it appears that the applicant was in constant touch with co-accused Nikhil Patil and Sandeep Thakre, however, it further appears that the trial Court has already granted bail to one Rishabh Vaishya, who has made 63 calls to Kamlesh Sahare and 94 calls to Nikhil Patil, so also 41 calls to Ajay Gajbhiye. Another circumstance which appears is that from his house the same clothes, i.e., black colored full-sleeve shirt and black colored pant, were seized which were seen in the CCTV footage. This circumstance alone is not sufficient for involvement of applicant. Further, I do not find any other strong circumstance to connect the applicant with the alleged crime of dacoity. It is further to be noted that there are no criminal antecedents against the applicant. Under such circumstances, I am inclined to grant bail by imposing stringent conditions. Hence, the following order: O R D E R (i) The Criminal Application is allowed; Piyush Mahajan 5 25-Cr.BA-1107-2026 (ii) The applicant/accused (Sahil S/o Sanjay Dhoke) be released on regular bail in connection with Crime No.215/2026 for the offences punishable under Sections 310(2), 311, 312 and 332(b) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, registered with Police Station Gittikhadan, District Nagpur, on his furnishing a P.R. bond of Rs.50,000/- (Rupees Fifty Thousand) with two solvent sureties in the like amount; (iii) The accused shall not directly or indirectly make any inducement, threat or promise to any person acquainted with the facts of the case, and also shall not tamper with the evidence; (iv) The accused shall provide his residential address and cell number to the Police Station concerned and shall not change his place of residence without prior intimation to the Investigating Agency; (v) Once the trial commences, the accused shall attend each and every date of trial regularly. If he fails to attend the trial, or fails to comply with the aforesaid conditions, his default would entail the State to ask for cancellation of bail; Piyush Mahajan 6 25-Cr.BA-1107-2026 (vi) The observations of this Court are prima facie in nature. The Trial Court shall not be influenced by the same; (vii) Pending Misc. Application(s), if any, also stand disposed of. [ M.M. NERLIKAR, J ] Piyush Mahajan Signed by: Piyush Ramesh Mahajan Designation: PA To Honourable Judge Date: 22/09/2026 18:25:52