MUNIRAJU @ MUGI Vs. STATE OF KARNATAKA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This petition is filed by the petitioner-accused No.3 under Sec.439 of Cr.P.C., for granting regular bail in Crime No.387/2020 registered by the Harohalli Police Station, pending in C.C.No.995/2021 on the file the Principal Civil Judge (Jr.Dn) and JMFC at Kanakapura, Ramanagara District, for the offences punishable under Sections 143, 302, 201 read with Sec.149 of the Indian Penal Code (in short 'IPC').

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

(3.) The case of the prosecution is that initially the case was registered by Denkanakottai Police station, Tamil Nadu in Crime No.142/2019 for the offences punishable under Sec.279 and 304A of IPC as the deceased Sampangi was found dead in an Auto- rickshaw in a Road Traffic Accident. Subsequently, accused No.1-Uday was arrested by the Denkanakattai police in Crime No.240/2019 for the offence punishable under Sec.392 of IPC. During the investigation it was revealed that on 04.06.2019, the accused No.1 along with others hired the Auto-rickshaw of the deceased Sampangi to go to Kabbalamma temple and thereafter, accused persons insisted the deceased to take them to Muthathi temple for which the deceased refused. Therefore, they got down and went to temple and while coming back, when the deceased was standing near Auto-rickshaw they robbed cash of Rs.3,000.00 and stabbed him with knife and subsequently, to conceal the evidence, they took the dead body of the deceased and made it to sit in Auto- rickshaw, crossed Karnataka border to Tamil Nadu in Denkanakottai jurisdiction, parked the Auto-rickshaw and by taking a four wheeler vehicle dashed against the Auto-rickshaw in order to show that it was a hit and run road traffic accident case. During the course of investigation, police have converted the offence punishable under Sec.304A of IPC into Sec.302 of IPC and since the incident was occurred within the jurisdiction of Karnataka Police, the case was transferred from Tamil Nadu Police to Karnataka Police. Accordingly, the case was registered at Harohalli police station. Thereafter, petitioner-accused No.3 was arrested 31.03.2021 and since then he is in judicial custody. The petitioner has moved bail petition before the Sessions Judge, which came to be rejected. Hence, the petitioner-accused is before this Court.