18-apeal-st-23115-25.odt IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 718 OF 2026 Chetan Dadaji Pawar …Appellant V/s. The State of Maharashtra & Anr. ...Respondents. Mr. M.A. Manav (through VC) a/w Mr. Sachinkumar Rajepandhare, Advocate for the Appellant. Mr. Mayur Sonavane, APP for the Respondent/State. Ms. Deepali Bagla, Appointed Advocate for Respondent No.2. CORAM : N.R. BORKAR, J. DATE : 28.09.2026. P.C. : 1. This appeal takes exception to the order dated 23.06.2021 passed by the Additional Sessions Judge, Malegaon, District Nashik below Exhibit-9,11 and 21 in Special Atrocities Case No.28 of 2020. 2. By the order impugned, the learned Additional Sessions Judge has rejected the application filed by the appellant for bail who is in custody in C.R. No. 97 of 2020 registered at Wadner Khakurdi Police Station, Nashik for the offences punishable under Sections 302, 201 read with 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 3(2)(5) of the Scheduled Caste and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. Pramod S. Lakare 1/3 PRAMOD SANTOSH LAKARE Digitally signed by PRAMOD SANTOSH LAKARE Date: 2026.09.28 17:41:46 +0530 18-apeal-st-23115-25.odt 3. The incident took place in the intervening night of 5.10.2020 and 06.10.2020. It is alleged that the present appellant along with other co-accused on account of previous enmity assaulted the deceased and committed his murder by strangulating him. 4. I have heard the learned counsel for the appellant, the learned APP for the respondent/State and the learned counsel for respondent No.2. 5. The learned counsel for the appellant submits that the case is based on circumstantial evidence. It is submitted that the appellant is in jail for 5 years and 11 months. It is further submitted that the motive for the alleged offence is attributed to the co-accused Umesh Patil. 6. On the other hand, learned APP for the respondent/State and the learned counsel for respondent No.2 submit that the appellant is involved in serious crime of murder. It is submitted that the evidence of the prosecution is over and the trial is at the stage of recording the statement of accused. It is submitted that the present appeal, therefore, may not be entertained at this stage. 7. The fact that the appellant is in jail for 5 years and 11 months is not disputed. I have perused the material on record. The motive for the alleged crime is not attributed to the present appellant. There are no other criminal antecedents against the present appellant. Considering the overall facts and Pramod S. Lakare 2/3 18-apeal-st-23115-25.odt circumstances, I am inclined to release the appellant on bail on certain conditions. Hence, the following order is passed. O R D E R (i) The Appeal is allowed. (ii) The impugned order dated 23.06.2021 passed by the Additional Sessions Judge to the extent of rejecting the bail application of the present appellant is hereby set aside. (iii) The appellant be released on bail in C.R. No. 97 of 2020 registered at Wadner Khakurdi Police Station, Nashik for the offences punishable under Sections 302, 201 read with 34 of the IPC and Section 3(2)(5) of the Scheduled Caste and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 on furnishing P.R. Bond in the sum of Rs.25,000/- with one or two sureties in the like amount. (iv) The appellant shall provide his contact number and residential address to the concerned police station. (v) The appellant shall attend the concerned police station once in a month, i.e., on first Saturday between 11.00 am to 2.00 pm till conclusion of trial. [N.R.BORKAR, J.] Pramod S. Lakare 3/3