17-CRIA-404-2026.doc IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY CIRCUIT BENCH AT KOLHAPUR CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION CRI-INTERIM APPLICATION NO. 404 OF 2026 IN CR. APPEAL NO. 165 OF 2026 Akshay Vishnu Shigvan ...Applicant. Versus The State Of Maharashtra And Another ...Respondents. —————— Mr. Satyajeet Anil Rajeshirke a/w Gautam R. Kulkarni, Shubham R. Vasekar & Sainath Z. Patil for the Applicant. Dr. A. A. Takalkar, APP for the Respondent No. 1-State. Mr. Bharat Govind Dhumal P.I. Mandangad Police Station. —————— Coram : Sharmila U. Deshmukh & Neeraj P. Dhote, JJ. Date : September 10, 2026. P. C. : 1. This is an Application for suspension of sentence imposed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Khed, Tal- Khed, District Ratnagiri in Sessions Case No. 4 of 2018 by Judgment and Order dated 30.10.2025, thereby convicting and sentencing the Applicant as follows: 1. Accused No.1 Abhijit Sudhakar Jadhav, No.2 Narendra Santosh Salvi and No.3 Akshay Vishnu Shigvan are convicted of the ofences punishable under Section 302, 397,201, 120-B rws 34 of the Indian Penal Code vide Section 235(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure. 2. The accused No.1 to 3 shall undergo life imprisonment for the ofence committed u/s 302, 201 and 120-B r.w.s.34 of IPC and ine of Rs.5,000/- (Rs. Five thousand only) each. They shall sufer simple Harish 1 of 4 HARISH VITHAL CHAUDHARI Digitally signed by HARISH VITHAL CHAUDHARI Date: 2026.09.10 18:41:21 +0530 17-CRIA-404-2026.doc imprisonment for three months in default of ine. 3. The accused No.1 to 3 shall undergo Rigorous imprisonment for seven years for the ofence committed u/s 397 r.w.s.34 of IPC and ine of Rs.5,000/- (Rs. Five thousand only) each. They shall sufer simple imprisonment for three months in default of ine. 4. ….. ….. ….. ….. ….. ….. ….. ….. …..” 5. ….. ….. ….. ….. ….. ….. ….. ….. …..” 6. ….. ….. ….. ….. ….. ….. ….. ….. …..” 7. ….. ….. ….. ….. ….. ….. ….. ….. …..” 8. ….. ….. ….. ….. ….. ….. ….. ….. …..” 9. ….. ….. ….. ….. ….. ….. ….. ….. …..” 10. ….. ….. ….. ….. ….. ….. ….. ….. …..” 2. It is submitted by the learned counsel for the Applicant/Appellant that, all three (3) accused persons, including the Applicant, were chargesheeted and tried before the learned Trial Court, and they all came to be convicted by the impugned Judgment. The case is based on circumstantial evidence. This Court, by order dated 14.07.2026, suspended the sentence of the co-convict No. 1-Abhijit Sudhakar Jadhav, by considering the evidence on record. The Applicant stands on the same footing, and the ground of parity is available to him. The Applicant/Appellant is behind bars for a period of more than eight (8) years. It is submitted that the Application be allowed. 3. It is submitted by the learned APP that the case is primarily based on the evidence of PW-6-the wife of the deceased, who had seen the deceased lastly with the Applicant and the co-convicts. The gold chain of Harish 2 of 4 17-CRIA-404-2026.doc the deceased was discovered/recovered at the instance of the Applicant. She submits that this Court has suspended the sentence of the co-convict No. 1- Abhijit Sudhakar Jadhav. She fairly submits that the evidence on the point of last seen is common against all the convicts. 4. The prosecution's case, in brief, is that on 30.10.2017, the convicts approached the deceased Rajaram, who was driving the three-wheeler, with a request to ferry the passengers who were waiting at village Tondali, and requested him to accompany them. Later on, the dead body of said Rajaram was found. The matter was reported to the police. The C.R. No. 47 of 2017 came to be registered with Mandangad Police Station for the ofences punishable under Sections 302, 397, 201 and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. 5. The case is based on circumstantial evidence. One of the circumstances is that the deceased accompanied the convicts. It is not in dispute that the evidence of last seen is against all the convicts. Since this Court has considered the evidence on record and suspended the sentence of the co-convict No. 1- Abhijit Sudhakar Jadhav, the ground of parity would be available to the Applicant. The additional circumstance against the Applicant is discovery/recovery of the gold chain of the deceased. The Applicant is behind bars for a period of eight (8) years. The Appeal is of the year 2026 and is not likely to be heard inally in the near future. Harish 3 of 4 17-CRIA-404-2026.doc 6. In this view of the matter, we are inclined to pass the following order: ORDER a) The Application is allowed. b) The substantive sentence imposed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Khed, Tal- Khed, District Ratnagiri in Sessions Case No. 4 of 2018 by Judgment and Order dated 30.10.2025 on the Applicant/Appellant, is suspended during pendency of the Appeal. c) Applicant - Akshay Vishnu Shigvan be released on bail on furnishing P. R. Bond of Rs.25,000/- (Rupees Twenty Five Thousand Only) with one or two sureties in the like amount. d) The Applicant/Appellant, before to his release, shall provide details of his residential address and mobile/landline contact numbers to the jail authorities which shall be forwarded to the concerned Police Station. e) The Applicant/Appellant shall report to the concerned police station, i.e., Mandangad Police Station, once a month, on the last day of month, between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m., until further orders. f) The Applicant/Appellant shall co-operate with this Court for early hearing of the Appeal. g) Bail before the Trial Court. 7. The Application stands disposed of accordingly. [Neeraj P. Dhote, J.] [Sharmila U. Deshmukh, J.] Harish 4 of 4