STATE OF MAHARASHTRA Vs. TUKARAM SHIVA PATIL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE State of Maharashtra has filed the above application under Article 227 of the Constitution and Section 439(2) of Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, praying for cancellation of the bail granted to the opponents, who are accused Nos. 1 to 7, in a murder case, in respect of which Karvir police station has filed a charge -sheet in the Court of the Judicial Magistrate, First Class, at Kolhapur, on December 30, 1974, numbered as C.R. No. 178 of 1974.

(2.) THE offence is alleged to have taken place on October 31, 1974, at about 8 -00 p.m., in the village Koge. One Marutr Avaba Patil, was murdered as a result of continuous blows given by axes and sticks. The prosecution alleges that the accused gave those blows. The prosecution relied on dying declarations alleged to have been made by deceased Maruti.

(3.) A further application was made on behalf of the remaining accused, viz. Miscellaneous Criminal Application No. 219 of 1974. It was opposed by the police on the same ground, as was done previously. The learned Sessions Judge found that charge -sheet was filed on December 30, 1974, without the accompaniments of documents or relevant extracts, as contemplated by Section 173(5)(a); and, therefore, he was of the view that the accused were entitled to be released on bail, as a matter of right, under Section 167(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973. He held that the documents and extracts were supplied on the date on which he passed the order, observing: Technically considered, the investigation should be deemed to have been completed today. In other words, the learned Sessions Judge was of the view that, having regard to the provisions of Section 167(2), notwithstanding the filing of the charge -sheet under Section 173, in the absence of the documents and extracts referred to in the charge -sheet, the investigation was not completed within sixty days, and, therefore, he released the remaining accused Nos. 1 to 5 also on bail, upon each executing a bond for Rs. 5,000 and furnishing security for Rs. 5,000.