1 36-Cr.BA-1178-2026 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY NAGPUR BENCH, NAGPUR. CRIMINAL APPLICATION [B.A.] NO. 1178 OF 2026 Sau. Sangita w/o Vinod Bhatkar -- VERSUS -- 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. S.V. Sirpurkar, Advocate a/b. Mr. Mohan Agrawal, Advocate for the Applicant. Mr. H.R. Dhumale, A.P.P. for the Non-applicant/State. CORAM : M.M. NERLIKAR, J. DATE : SEPTEMBER 22, 2026. Heard. 2. The present application is filed seeking regular bail in Crime No.141/2026 for the offences punishable under Sections 103(1) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, registered with Police Station Mana, District Akola. 3. According to the First Information Report (F.I.R.), on 26/03/2026, Gopal Ramkrishna Bhatkar, reported to Police Station Mana that his brother, Sanjay Ramkrishna Bhatkar (aged 50 years), was found dead under mysterious circumstances in the residence of his elder brother at village Wai Mana. Initially, an accidental death entry was Piyush Mahajan 2026:BHC-NAG:12607 2 36-Cr.BA-1178-2026 recorded vide Marg No.08/2026 under Section 194 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). During the investigation, the body was sent for a post-mortem examination at Laxmibai Deshmukh Hospital, Murtizapur, where the Medical Officer issued an advance post-mortem report opining the cause of death as "Asphyxia due to Strangulation." The medical opinion clearly revealed that the deceased was murdered by an unknown person by throttling/strangulating him. Based on these allegations, the F.I.R. came to be registered. 4. The learned counsel for the applicant submits that the allegations against the applicant are that she and her son, namely, Swapnil, had killed Sanjay Bhatkar, who is the brother-in-law of the applicant. He submits that, absolutely, there is no material to connect the applicant with the alleged crime. Though the cause of death is strangulation and the dead body was found in the cattleshed outside the house of the applicant, the applicant cannot be connected with the said crime. He further submits that the cattleshed is open and accessible to everyone, under such circumstances, merely on the basis of a belated extra-judicial confession, the applicant cannot be kept behind bars. The statement alleged to have been made to the husband, Vinod, by Piyush Mahajan 3 36-Cr.BA-1178-2026 the applicant is not sufficient, since the said statement of the husband of the applicant was recorded on 06/05/2026. He further submits that even the daughter of the deceased who was residing with the applicant, her statement shows that she is an eyewitness, however, her statement was recorded almost one and a half months after the incident. Under such circumstances, the entire case of the prosecution raises doubt, and merely on the basis of the fact that the co-accused, Swapnil, and the applicant have disclosed to Vinod about the killing committed by them, is not sufficient, therefore, considering the nature of the allegations, the applicant deserves to be granted bail. 5. On the other hand, the learned A.P.P. vehemently opposes the application and submits that the applicant is having dual motive. The sister of the applicant was the wife of the deceased – Sanjay. He had killed the sister of the applicant. Both the sisters were married to two brothers, one was married to Sanjay and the applicant was married to Vinod. Thus, the applicant had a strong motive to kill the deceased. He further submits that even the deceased was asking to sell his 1 acre of land and pay the amount, and therefore, this was also another motive for the applicant to kill the deceased. He further Piyush Mahajan 4 36-Cr.BA-1178-2026 submits that, admittedly, the incident took place in the morning of 26/03/2026. Initially an accidental death case was registered, however, on the same day, an advance post-mortem report was received and the opinion was given that the cause of death was Asphyxia due to Strangulation, and therefore, the F.I.R. was registered against unknown persons. He further submits that immediately on suspicion, the son of the applicant, Swapnil, was arrested, and he gave a confessional statement, and accordingly, even the present applicant, who is the mother of Swapnil, was also arrested. The daughter of the deceased, who was residing with the present applicant, gave a statement belatedly since she was at the mercy of the present applicant as the deceased was working in Pune. He further submits that there is also evidence in the nature of extra-confessional statement wherein the statement of the husband of the applicant was recorded, wherein it was disclosed by him that Swapnil had strangulated the neck of the deceased and committed his murder, and further, even the applicant had held his legs while Swapnil strangulated the neck of the deceased. Under such circumstances, he submits that considering the relationship, the husband of the applicant and the daughter of the deceased have not given their statements at the initial stage, however, after taking Piyush Mahajan 5 36-Cr.BA-1178-2026 them into confidence, they have given their statements, and therefore, according to the learned A.P.P., this cannot be said to be a statement recorded at a belated stage, and therefore, he prays for the rejection of the application. 6. Upon consideration of the rival submissions and the material placed before me, it appears that the incident occurred on 26/03/2026 at about 7 a.m. Accordingly, an accidental death case was registered. The body was sent for post-mortem, and accordingly, the report was received stating that the cause of death was "Asphyxia due to Strangulation." Thereafter, the F.I.R. was registered on the very same day in the evening against unknown persons, however, Swapnil, the son of the applicant, was arrested on suspicion on 27/03/2026, wherein he confessed about the commission of the crime and even disclosed the name of the applicant. It further appears that till the recording of the statement of the husband, in fact, there was only the confession of Swapnil and no other material to connect the applicant with the alleged crime. No doubt, so far as the statements are concerned, those are recorded at a belated stage. However, even if the relationship is considered, the fact remains that it was only on 06/05/2026 that the statement was Piyush Mahajan 6 36-Cr.BA-1178-2026 recorded, stating that Swapnil and the applicant had disclosed to him about the commission of the offence by them. It is to be noted that so far as the motive is concerned, it appears that the sister of the applicant, who was the wife of the deceased, was killed by the deceased. It appears that so far as the incident of the killing of the sister of the applicant is concerned, that incident occurred 14 years ago. Under such circumstances, it is very difficult to say that the applicant had any motive to kill the deceased. It is further to be noted that so far as the other fact about motive is concerned, namely that the deceased was insisting to sell the agricultural land of 1 acre, in fact, when husband Vinod of applicant is alive, even this fact would amount to far fetching. Under such circumstances, if the entire case is considered, the only material against the applicant seems to be the extra-judicial confession which was made to the husband Vinod, however, it is a settled position of law that such type of evidence is a weak piece of evidence. Considering the above factors, 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 7 36-Cr.BA-1178-2026 (ii) The applicant/accused (Sau. Sangita w/o Vinod Bhatkar) be released on regular bail in connection with Crime No.141/2026 for the offences punishable under Sections 103(1) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, registered with Police Station Mana, District Akola, on her 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 her residential address and cell number to the Police Station concerned and shall not change her 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 she fails to attend the trial, or fails to comply with the aforesaid conditions, her default would entail the State to ask for cancellation of bail; Piyush Mahajan 8 36-Cr.BA-1178-2026 (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: 23/09/2026 18:24:43