SHEKAR S/O. SHESHAPPA Vs. STATE OF KARNATAKA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This petition has been filed by the sole accused under Sec. 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (hereinafter referred to as the 'Cr.P.C. ', for brevity) seeking bail in Crime No.27/2021 of Kampli Police Station registered for the offences punishable under Sections 302, 376 and 341 of Indian Penal Code (hereinafter referred to as the 'IPC ', for brevity).

(2.) It is the case of the prosecution that one Eramma W/o. Late Irappa has filed complaint stating that she has two daughters by name Nagamma (deceased) and Venkatlaxmi and two sons and her daughter are married and residing in the house of their respective husband. Deceased-Nagamma was leading happy marital life with her husband and she was working as a maid and she used to return home around 6.30 p.m. As usually, on 14/02/2021, she went for work at 4.00 p.m. to the house of Kalpanamma and did not return home till 7.00 p.m. Her husband along with his son came to the house of complainant and enquired regarding her. At about 8.30 p.m. the complainant 's grandson Mahesh came and informed the complainant that someone has murdered his mother and dead body was found back side of Mallikarjun Kalyan Mantap. The complainant went to the spot and saw the dead body of her daughter and after enquiry her son-in-law informed that when he along with his son was in search of his wife, he saw someone fallen near the fence beside the road and when he went and saw, there was a dead body of his wife. The said complaint came to be registered in Crime No.27/2021 for the offence under Sec. 302 of IPC against unknown persons. After investigation, charge- sheet has been filed against the petitioner/accused for the offences punishable under Sections 302, 376 and 341 of IPC. The petitioner/accused came to be arrested on 28.02.2021. In the charge-sheet, it is alleged that the petitioner and deceased were known to each other and accused, in order to talk with the deceased, had purchased SIM card and mobile and gave it to the deceased and as such they were in contact continuously. Since, there was lockdown, the accused with his family went back to his native place in Andra Pradesh. The deceased was not talking with the accused properly. When he was in his native, he suspected that deceased had contact with CW-13. Enraged by the same, on 12.02.2021 he returned to Kampli and when he tried to talk with the deceased, she was not responding properly. Therefore on 14/02/2021 at 6.00 p.m. he went to meet the deceased by taking a hammer with him and at about 6.45 p.m. when the deceased was coming on the road situate on the backside of the Mallikarjuna Temple, the accused/petitioner restrained her and questioned her why she was not co-operating with him and stating so, he took the deceased near the fence situate by the side of the said road and raped her and when she threatened the accused that the same would be informed to her husband and children, he assaulted on the face and head of the deceased by the hammer and killed her. The petitioner/accused filed Crl.Misc. No.5319/2021 seeking bail and the same came to be rejected by the learned III Additional District and Sessions Judge, Ballari sitting at Hosapete by order dated 21/08/2021. Therefore, the petitioner/accused is before this Court seeking bail.

(3.) Heard the arguments of the learned counsel appearing for the petitioner and the learned High Court Government Pleader for the respondent-State.