25-ABA-535-2026 (1).odt IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY CIRCUIT BENCH AT KOLHAPUR CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION ANTICIPATORY BAIL APPLICATION NO. 535 OF 2026 Mahadev Uttam Dhakane And Ors. ...Applicants Versus The State of Maharashtra And Anr. ...Respondents ---- Mr. Jaydeep Mane a/w Mihir Mondkar,, Advocate for the Applicants. Mr. S. H. Yadav, APP for the Respondent – State. Mr. Ritesh Thobde, Advocate for the Intervenor. PC Chormale, Karmala Police Station, Solapur Rural, is present. ------- CORAM : ASHWIN D. BHOBE, J. DATE : 30th September, 2026. P.C. : 1. Heard, Mr. Jaydeep Mane, learned Advocate for the Applicants, Mr. S. H. Yadav, learned APP for the Respondent – State and Mr. Ritesh Thobde, learned Advocate for the Intervenor. 2. At the outset, Mr. Jaydeep Mane, learned Advocate for the Applicants, seeks leave to withdraw the request for Anticipatory Bail Application on behalf of Applicant No.1 (Dnyaneshwar Dinkar Dhakane), who is Accused No. 1 in Crime No. 692 of 2026. He therefore seeks leave to delete the name of Applicant No. 1 from the cause title of this Application. This request made by Mr. Jaydeep Mane, learned Advocate for the Applicants, is not opposed by Mr. S. H. Yadav, learned Arjun 1 25-ABA-535-2026 (1).odt APP for the Respondent – State and Mr. Ritesh Thobde, learned Advocate for the Intervenor. 3. In view of the statement made by Mr. Jaydeep Mane, learned Advocate for the Applicants, leave is granted to withdraw this Application on behalf of Applicant No. 1-Dnyaneshwar Dinkar Dhakane (Accused No. 1). Mr. Jaydeep Mane, learned Advocate for the Applicants, seeks permission to carry out the amendment forthwith to delete Dnyaneshwar Dinkar Dhakane (Accused No. 1) from the cause title and to rearrange the numbering of the Applicants. Permission is granted. Amendment be carried out forthwith. 4. Upon deletion of the name of Dnyaneshwar Dinkar Dhakane (Accused No. 1) from the cause title, this Application stands dismissed qua Dnyaneshwar Dinkar Dhakane (Accused No. 1). Upon such deletion, there are nine (9) Applicants in this Application. 5. By this Application filed under Section 482 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, the Applicants seek pre-arrest bail apprehending arrest in connection with Crime No. 692 of 2026 registered at Karmala Police Station, for offences punishable under Sections 352, 351(3), 351(2), 191(3), 191(2), 190, 189(4), 189(2), Arjun 2 25-ABA-535-2026 (1).odt 127(7), 118(2), 118(1), 115(2), 109(1) and 103(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. 6. Mr. Jaydeep Mane, learned Advocate for the Applicants, states that Applicant Nos. 1 to 9 are the respective Accused Nos. 2 to 10 in Crime No. 692 of 2026. 7. In brief, the prosecution case as revealed in the FIR is that a dispute arose between the family of Shubham Vasant Kekan (Intervenor-Informant) and the accused persons in respect of agricultural land bearing Gat No. 255 at Ravagaon. The Intervenor claims that various revenue proceedings and a civil suit concerning the disputed land were decided against the accused persons. That on 20. 06. 2026, at about 4: 30 p. m., when the Intervenor was cultivating the disputed land with a tractor, in the presence of his father-Vasant Nivrutti Kekane (“deceased”) and other relatives, all the Applicants arrived at the spot. Applicant No. 1, Applicant No. 2 and Applicant No. 3 were carrying stones and sticks, whereas Accused No. 1 (Dnyaneshwar Dinkar Dhakane) was carrying a sharp knife. The accused persons stopped the tractor, threatened the Intervenor and his father and assaulted them. When the Intervenor intervened to rescue his father, he was also assaulted. During the incident, Vishwas Kekan Arjun 3 25-ABA-535-2026 (1).odt sustained an injury to his left ankle and Vaibhav Kekan sustained injuries to his face and nose. Pravin Kekan sustained an injury to his right forearm caused by a sharp weapon. The Intervenor approached Karmala Police Station, but the police did not register the complaint. On the same night, as the father of the Intervenor experienced severe chest pain, the Intervenor took him to Vithai Multispeciality Hospital,Karmala, where he was declared dead before treatment. The post-mortem report records fractures of his ribs. The Intervenor claims that despite approaching the police authorities on several occasions and submitting written complaints to Senior Police Officers on 04. 07. 04.07.2026 and 08. 07. 08.07.2026, no action was taken on his complaint. Subsequently, the Intervenor approached the Court of the Magistrate seeking appropriate directions under Section 175(3) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, for an investigation into the offences. Crime No. 692 of 2026 was registered pursuant to the direction in the said proceedings. 8. Mr. Jaydeep Mane, learned Advocate for the Applicants, submits that although the FIR alleges that the Applicants used knives and stones to assault the deceased, the deceased sustained fractures of the 5th, 6th and 7th ribs on the chest, without any external injuries. He submits that the death of the deceased is due to a heart attack and not the injuries to Arjun 4 25-ABA-535-2026 (1).odt the ribs. He submits that Crime No. 692 of 2026 is a counterblast to the FIR lodged by the Applicants earlier and registered as Crime No. 578 of 2026 at Karmala Police Station. He submits that, out of vengeance, the Intervenor has joined all members of the Applicants’ family, including four (4) women, one of whom is 80 years of age and one (1) senior citizen aged 82 years, as mentioned in the cause title. He submits that the Applicants are not involved in the offence. 9. Mr. S. H. Yadav, learned APP for the Respondent - State, submits that in the incident of 20.06.026, the Applicants, along with Dnyaneshwar Dinkar Dhakane (Accused No. 1), assaulted the deceased with kicks and fist blows. He submits that Pravin Kekan was assaulted with a knife. He submits that the knife used to assault Pravin Kekan was wielded by Accused No. 1 (Dnyaneshwar Dinkar Dhakane). He further submits that the injuries sustained by the deceased are internal, i.e. to the ribs. He submits that the Applicants are ready to appear before the Investigation Officer at Karmala Police Station as and when required and to cooperate with the investigation in Crime No. 692 of 2026. 10. Mr. Ritesh Thobde, learned Advocate for the Intervenor, submits that the incident of 20.06.2026 arose out of a group fight. As such, it was difficult for the Intervenor to identify and refer to the specific role Arjun 5 25-ABA-535-2026 (1).odt of each of the Applicants in the assault on the deceased or on other persons who were injured. He further submits that despite the assault on the deceased, the police did not register an FIR, which led the Intervenor to file a private complaint before the Magistrate. 11. Perused the records with the assistance of the learned Advocates. 12. Apparently, the alleged incident of 20.06.2026, which Mr. Ritesh Thobde, learned Advocate for the Intervenor, refers to as a group fight, has two FIR’s registered. The first is at the instance of the Applicants, registered as Crime No. 578 of 2026 and the second is at the instance of the Intervenor, registered as Crime No. 692 of 2026, both at Karmala Police Station, Solapur. 13. A perusal of the FIR in Crime No. 692 of 2026 indicates that although there are allegations that the deceased was assaulted with fists, kicks and blows, these allegations do not pertain to any specific individual. No specific role is assigned to any of the Applicants. 14. The allegation of the use of a knife to assault Pravin Kekan is said to be at the instance of Accused No. 1 (Dnyaneshwar Dinkar Dhakane). 15. Out of the nine (9) Applicants (Accused Nos. 2 to 10), four (4) Arjun 6 25-ABA-535-2026 (1).odt women, one of whom is 80 years of age and one (1) senior citizen aged 82 years. Applicant No.2 is 64 years of age. 16. Considering the aforesaid circumstances, the nature of the allegations against these Applicants in Crime No. 692 of 2026 and the absence of external injuries on the deceased, no case is made out for custodial interrogation of the Applicants. 17. In view of the above, this Application is allowed on the following terms :- (a) In the event of the arrest of the Applicants in Crime No. 692 of 2026 registered with Karmala Police Station, the Applicants shall be released on bail upon each of them furnishing a PR bond in the sum of Rs. 15,000/-, with two sureties in the like amount, to the satisfaction of the Investigating Officer of Karmala Police Station. (b) The Applicants shall not directly or indirectly make any inducement, threat or promise to any person/s acquainted with the facts of the case to dissuade such person/s from disclosing the facts to the Arjun 7 25-ABA-535-2026 (1).odt Court or any police officer. (c) Applicants shall not tamper with evidence in any manner. (d) Applicants shall appear and report to the Investigating Officer, Karmala Police Station, as and when directed by the Investigating Officer. Applicants shall co-operate with the Investigating Officer in the investigation of Crime No. 692 of 2026. (e) The Applicants shall provide the Investigating Officer, Karmala Police Station, with their residential address along with proof, their contact numbers and must inform the Investigating Officer of any changes to this information from time to time. 18. The observations made in this order are for deciding the Bail Application and will not affect the trial. 19. Anticipatory Bail Application No. 535 of 2026 is disposed of. (ASHWIN D. BHOBE, J.) Arjun 8 ARJUN KRISHNA RODGE Digitally signed by ARJUN KRISHNA RODGE Date: 2026.10.01 19:15:47 +0530