RUKSANA ARSHAD ALI SHAIKH Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is a bail application filed under Sec. 483 of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 ("BNS", for short). The applicant is seeking release on bail in connection with Crime Register No. 668 of 2024 registered with Pydhonie Police Station. The said offence concerns serious charges punishable under Ss. 103(1), 238(A), 3(5), 49, 61(2), 127, and 140 of the BNS, along with Sec. 66(b) of the Information Technology Act, 2000.

(2.) The prosecution's case, in brief, is that Accused No.1 was in an illicit relationship with the present applicant. It is alleged that Accused Nos. 1 to 3, in active connivance with each other, committed the murder of the husband of the applicant. According to the prosecution, frequent phone calls exchanged between the applicant and Accused No.1 reveal the existence of their relationship. Further, the prosecution relies on the extra-judicial confessions made by the applicant and Accused No.1 before two witnesses, as well as the recovery of a rope and a wire allegedly used in the commission of the crime. These, according to the prosecution, form a sufficient chain of circumstances to justify continued custody of the applicant at this stage.

(3.) It is not in dispute that the applicant was arrested on 7/8/2024. Her earlier application for bail came to be rejected by the learned Sessions Judge. Aggrieved thereby, she has preferred the present bail application before this Court under Sec. 483 of BNS.