- 1 - HC-KAR CNR: KAHC010317522026 NC: 2026:KHC:37383 CRL.P No. 6772 of 2026 IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AT BENGALURU DATED THIS THE 21ST DAY OF JULY, 2026 BEFORE THE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE S VISHWAJITH SHETTY CRIMINAL PETITION NO. 6772 OF 2026 (439(Cr.PC) / 483(BNSS)) BETWEEN: MR. SUMITH KUMAR @ AMITH KUMAR @ ANITHKUMAR @ SUMITH @ AMITH SON OF NANDLAL PRAJAPATHI, AGED ABOUT 24 YEARS, R/AT JANATHA COLONY, BANNERUGHATTA VILLAGE, JIGANI HOBLI, ANEKAL TALUK, NATIVE PLACE, WARD NO. 31, GANGATTI VILLAGE, AURANGABAD POLICE STATION, LIMITS AND DISTRICT, BIHAR STATE - 824 101. …PETITIONER (BY SRI. THAKUR RISHABH RAJ, ADVOCATE) AND: STATE OF KARNATAKA BANNERUGHATTA POLICE STATION, BENGALURU DISTRICT, Digitally signed by SHARADAVANI B Location: High Court of Karnataka - 2 - HC-KAR CNR: KAHC010317522026 NC: 2026:KHC:37383 CRL.P No. 6772 of 2026 REP. BY STATE PUBLIC PROSECUTOR, HIGH COURT BUILDING, BANGALORE - 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 ALLOW THE PETITIONER AND GRANT REGULAR BAIL TO THE PETITIONER/ ACCUSED NO.6 IN CR.NO.129/2023 (C.C.NO.6730/2025) PENDING ON THE FILE OF THE III ADDL. CIVIL JUDGE AND JMFC, ANEKAL FOR THE ALLEGED OFFENCES P/U/S 302, 201 R/W 149 OF IPC 1860. THIS PETITION, COMING ON FOR ORDERS, THIS DAY, ORDER WAS MADE THEREIN AS UNDER: CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE S VISHWAJITH SHETTY ORAL ORDER Accused No.6 in S.C.No.5058/2023 pending before the Court of III Additional District and Sessions Judge, Anekal, Bengaluru Rural, arising out of Crime No.129/2023 registered by Bannerghatta Police Station, Bengaluru for the offence punishable under Section 302, 201, 149 of IPC, - 3 - HC-KAR CNR: KAHC010317522026 NC: 2026:KHC:37383 CRL.P No. 6772 of 2026 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.129/2023 was registered by Bannerghatta Police Station, Bengaluru for the offences punishable under Section 302 and 201 of IPC against unknown persons, based on the first information dated 01.06.2023 received from Hemavathi, wife of Harinath, daughter of deceased Geethamma. During the course of investigation, accused No.7-Indal Kumar was arrested on 07.06.2023 and after completing investigation, charge sheet has been filed against him and accused No.1 to 6 are shown as absconding accused in the said charge sheet. Subsequently, accused No.6 / the petitioner was arrested on 13.06.2025 and remanded to judicial custody. His bail application filed before the jurisdictional Sessions Court in Crl.Misc.No.5603/2025 was rejected on 26.12.2025. Therefore, he is before this Court. - 4 - HC-KAR CNR: KAHC010317522026 NC: 2026:KHC:37383 CRL.P No. 6772 of 2026 4. Learned counsel for the petitioner having reiterated the grounds urged in the petition has submitted his written arguments along with following judgments in support of his contentions: (i) Prabhakar Tewari v. State of Uttar Pradesh & Anr., reported in (2020) 11 SCC 648: (ii) Arnab Manoranjan Goswami v. State of Maharastra and others, reported in (2021) 2 SCC 427: (iii) Union of India v. K.A.Najeeb, reported in (2021) 3 SCC 713: (iv) Haricharan Kurmi and Anr. v. State of Bihar, reported in (1964) SCC OnLine SC 28: (v) Kashmira Singh v. State of Madhya Pradesh, reported in (1951) 1 SCC 275. 5. Per contra, learned High Court Government Pleader, who has opposed the petition submits that, accused No.1 to 6 absconded after the crime was committed and only accused No.7 could be arrested during the course of investigation. He submits that accused Nos.1 - 5 - HC-KAR CNR: KAHC010317522026 NC: 2026:KHC:37383 CRL.P No. 6772 of 2026 to 7 hail from Bihar and they have committed a heinous offence wherein a lady was murdered and her body was cut into pieces. He submits that body parts of the deceased as well as the weapon used to commit the offence were recovered at the instance of accused No.7, who was arrested during the course of investigation. If the petitioner is enlarged on bail, is likely to flee away from justice. Accordingly, prays to dismiss the petition. 6. Perusal of the material on record would go to show that deceased-Smt.Geethamma, who is the mother of the first informant, was staying alone in a house after her husband had expired. She had rented three sheet houses to accused Nos.1, 6 and 7, who were working in a private company. It appears that the said accused persons had an eye on the property of Smt.Geethamma. On 27.05.2023, accused No.1 came to the house of Smt.Geethamma and at that time, even accused Nos.6 and 7 were also present in the house. Accused No.1 allegedly informed Smt.Geethamma that he had brought - 6 - HC-KAR CNR: KAHC010317522026 NC: 2026:KHC:37383 CRL.P No. 6772 of 2026 certain documents relating to the property and asked her to sign on the same. When Smt.Geethamma refused to sign the said papers, accused No.1 allegedly caught hold of her, strangulated her neck with a mobile phone charger wire and committed her murder. Thereafter, accused No.1, 6 and 7 shifted the dead body of Smt.Geethamma to the house of accused No.1. 7. On 28.05.2023, accused persons brought axle blade and cut the dead body of Smt.Geethamma into pieces and after packing the same, they had disposed of the same at various places with an intention to destroy the evidence. After some parts of a human body were found behind the house of Smt.Geethamma, her daughter had identified the same and FIR was registered against unknown persons. During the course of investigation, accused No.7 was arrested and at his instance the remaining parts of the body of the deceased, including her head was recovered. Even the weapons which were used for cutting the dead body of deceased Smt.Geethamma - 7 - HC-KAR CNR: KAHC010317522026 NC: 2026:KHC:37383 CRL.P No. 6772 of 2026 into pieces were recovered at the instance of accused No.7. 8. Accused Nos.1 to 6 were found missing from their house and they could not be arrested during the course of investigation. Therefore, in the charge sheet they are shown as absconding accused and liberty is reserved to file additional charge sheet insofar as the said accused persons are concerned. After completing investigation in the present case, the petitioner was arrested at Bihar on 13.06.2025, produced before the trial Court on 16.06.2025 and remanded to judicial custody. 9. Accused No.7 had approached this Court in criminal petition No.113/2025, which was dismissed by this Court on 02.04.2025. Subsequently, he had approached this Court afresh in criminal petition No.2820/2026, which was also dismissed by this Court on 01.06.2026, with liberty to file a fresh petition before the Sessions Court. Insofar as the petitioner is concerned, he - 8 - HC-KAR CNR: KAHC010317522026 NC: 2026:KHC:37383 CRL.P No. 6772 of 2026 was absconding for a period of nearly three years from the date of incident. Therefore, as rightly contended by learned HCGP, in the event if he is enlarged on bail, the chances of he fleeing away from justice cannot be ruled out. The judgments on which reliance has been placed by the learned counsel for the petitioner are rendered considering the facts and circumstances of the said case and therefore, the same cannot be made applicable to the facts of the present case. 10. Under the circumstances, I do not find any good grounds to entertain this petition. Accordingly, the criminal petition is dismissed. Sd/- (S VISHWAJITH SHETTY) JUDGE AMM List No.: 1 Sl No.: 40