- 1 - HC-KAR NC: 2026:KHC:27798 CRL.P No. 5978 of 2026 IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AT BENGALURU DATED THIS THE 8TH DAY OF JUNE, 2026 BEFORE THE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE S VISHWAJITH SHETTY CRIMINAL PETITION NO. 5978 OF 2026 BETWEEN: SHIVA S/O ELUMALAI AGED ABOUT 27 YEARS R/AT NO.237, 3RD CROSS BELI MATT ROAD, COTTEN PET BENGALURU - 560 053. …PETITIONER (BY SRI G. RAKESH RAJ, ADV.) AND: STATE OF KARNATAKA BY COTTON PET POLICE STATION REPRESENTED BY THE STATE PUBLIC PROSECUTOR KARNATAKA HIGH COURT COMPLEX BENGALURU - 560 001. …RESPONDENT (BY SRI RANGASWAMY R, HCGP) THIS CRL.P IS FILED U/S 439 CR.PC (FILED U/S 483 BNSS) PRAYING TO ENLARGE HIM ON BAIL IN S.C.82/2026 OF CR.NO.182/2025 OF COTTON PET POLICE STATION, BENGALURU FOR AN OFFENCE PUNISHABLE U/S 103(1) AND 238(b) R/W 3(5) OF BHARATIYA NYAYA SANHITA, 2023 WHICH IS PENDING BEFORE LXIV ADDL.CITY CIVIL AND SESSIONS JUDGE (CCH-65) AT BANGALORE. THIS PETITION, COMING ON FOR ORDERS, THIS DAY, ORDER WAS MADE THEREIN AS UNDER: CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE S VISHWAJITH SHETTY Digitally signed by NANDINI M S Location: HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA - 2 - HC-KAR NC: 2026:KHC:27798 CRL.P No. 5978 of 2026 ORAL ORDER 1. Accused in S.C.No.82/2026 pending before the Court of LXIV Addl. City Civil & Sessions Judge, Bengaluru, arising out of Crime No.182/2025 registered by Cottonpet Police Station, Bengaluru City, for the offences punishable under Sections 103(1), 238(b) read with 3(5) of BNS, 2023, is before this Court in this petition filed under Section 483 of BNSS, 2023, seeking regular bail. 2. Heard the learned Counsel for the parties. 3. FIR in Crime No.182/2025 was registered by Cottonpet Police Station, against the petitioner herein for the offence punishable under Section 109(1) of BNS, 2023, based on the first information dated 15.09.2025 received from Sandhya.V. - wife of deceased Vijay. During the course of investigation, petitioner was arrested on 15.09.2025 and subsequently remanded to judicial custody. Injured Vijay has subsequently died in the hospital on 25.09.2025 while undergoing treatment. Thereafter, the offence punishable under Section 103(1) of BNS, 2023, was invoked and after completing investigation, charge sheet has been filed against the petitioner and his - 3 - HC-KAR NC: 2026:KHC:27798 CRL.P No. 5978 of 2026 parents for the aforesaid offences. Bail application filed by the petitioner before the Trial Court in Crl. Misc. No.2790/2026 was rejected on 02.04.2026. Therefore, petitioner is before this Court. 4. Learned Counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner who has no criminal antecedents is in custody from 15.09.2025. The statement of the alleged eye-witnesses in the present case has been registered belatedly after a period of nearly two weeks from the alleged date of incident. Investigation of the case is completed and charge sheet has been filed. Accordingly, he prays to allow the petition. 5. Per contra, learned HCGP has opposed the petition. He submits that CW-2 & CW-6 are the eye-witnesses to the incident in question. The weapon used to assault the deceased has been recovered at the instance of the petitioner. In the event, petitioner is enlarged on bail, he is likely to tamper with the prosecution witnesses. Accordingly, he prays to dismiss the petition. - 4 - HC-KAR NC: 2026:KHC:27798 CRL.P No. 5978 of 2026 6. In the typed first information dated 15.09.2025 submitted by the wife of deceased Vijay, she has stated that on the intervening night of 14.09.2025 and 15.09.2025 at about 12.30 a.m., her husband had been to the house of his brother Raju - CW-11. At about 2.00 a.m., she had telephoned her husband who had informed her that he will come after some time. Thereafter, at about 6.30 a.m. on 15.09.2025, the parents of the petitioner herein brought her husband to her house and informed her that her husband had fallen on the road side after consuming alcohol and had suffered injuries. They had taken him to a hospital and after giving him first aid, they had brought him home. Subsequently, the first informant allegedly inquired with CW-11 - Raju, who informed her that petitioner and Vijay had quarreled during night after consuming alcohol and he had intervened and pacified them. It is under these circumstances, FIR was registered against the petitioner based on the first information submitted by Sandhya for the offence punishable under Section 109(1) of BNS, 2023. 7. Petitioner was arrested on 15.09.2025 and was remanded to judicial custody on the very same day. Police had not - 5 - HC-KAR NC: 2026:KHC:27798 CRL.P No. 5978 of 2026 recorded the statement of CW-11 or any one of the other eye- witnesses thereafter till Vijay who was undergoing treatment in the hospital died on 25.09.2025. After the death of Vijay, police have recorded the statement of CW-11 - Raju who is the brother of the deceased. CW-2, CW-6 & CW-11 are all close friends and they had slept near the spot of crime after pacifying petitioner and Vijay who had quarreled earlier. 8. The allegation now made against the petitioner in the charge sheet is that on the early hours of 15.09.2025, petitioner had quarreled with Vijay. He had gone along with Vijay to consume alcohol, while CW-2, CW-6 & CW-11 had slept near the spot of crime. After consuming alcohol, petitioner and Vijay returned to the spot of crime and petitioner allegedly took a spanner from his Autorickshaw and assaulted Vijay in the background of their fight earlier on the very same day. CW-2 & CW-6 are said to have witnessed the said assault by the petitioner on deceased Vijay. The statement of CW-11 was recorded in the present case for the first time on 25.09.2025. In the said statement, he does not state that CW-2 & CW-6 had seen the petitioner assaulting Vijay. It is relevant to notice here - 6 - HC-KAR NC: 2026:KHC:27798 CRL.P No. 5978 of 2026 that the incident in question had taken place on 15.09.2025 and Vijay had died on 25.09.2025. If CW-2 & CW-6 had witnessed the incident, they would have informed CW-11 about the same and if that is so, CW-11 should have mentioned about the same in his statement that was recorded on 25.09.2025. The statement of the alleged eye-witnesses was subsequently recorded on 27.09.2025 which is after a period of nearly two weeks from the alleged date of incident. 9. The alleged recovery of the weapon used for committing the offence is from the autorickshaw. However, the recovery mahazar does not mention the registration number of said autorickshaw and there is nothing on record to show that the said autorickshaw belongs to the petitioner. 10. Petitioner who has no other criminal antecedents is in custody from 15.09.2025. Investigation of the case is completed and charge sheet has been filed. Incident in question had taken place in a place where the petitioner, deceased CW-2, CW-6, CW-11 and their other friends had gathered for the purpose of making arrangement to perform Ganesha festival. The material on record would go to show that the - 7 - HC-KAR NC: 2026:KHC:27798 CRL.P No. 5978 of 2026 petitioner and deceased had consumed alcohol and their friends also had consumed alcohol. Except the statement of the alleged eye-witnesses whose statements have been recorded belatedly, there is no other material to connect the petitioner directly to the crime. In the charge sheet which is now filed, the prosecution has in all cited 29 charge-sheet witnesses and trial in the case is yet to commence. Under the circumstances, I am of the opinion that the prayer made by the petitioner for grant of regular bail is required to be answered affirmatively. Accordingly, the following order: 10. The petition is allowed. The petitioner is directed to be enlarged on bail in S.C.No.82/2026 pending before the Court of LXIV Addl. City Civil & Sessions Judge, Bengaluru, arising out of Crime No.182/2025 registered by Cottonpet Police Station, Bengaluru City, for the offences punishable under Sections 103(1), 238(b) read with 3(5) of BNS, 2023, subject to the following conditions: a) Petitioner shall execute personal bond for a sum of Rs.1,00,000/- with two sureties for the likesum, to the satisfaction of the jurisdictional Court; - 8 - HC-KAR NC: 2026:KHC:27798 CRL.P No. 5978 of 2026 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; 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 KK