GOVIND SINGH Vs. STATE OF HIMACHAL PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner has filed the present petition for seeking regular bail. It has been asserted that FIR No. 136 of 2022, dtd. 27/6/2022 was registered against the petitioner at Police Station Bhuntar for the commission of offences punishable under Ss. 302, 452, 380 and 201 of Indian Penal Code. The petitioner was falsely implicated. There is no evidence to connect the petitioner with the commission of crime. As per the prosecution case, the deceased Shakuntla Devi was heavily drunk and alcohol was detected in her blood and viscera to the extent of 217.15 mg%. The prosecution asserted that the petitioner had a mobile phone which is false because the mobile phone does not belong to the bail petitioner. The police have not ascertained the ownership of the mobile number and have not procured the CCTV footage of the vicinity. The petitioner had disclosed his mobile number but the police did not conduct the investigation to ascertain its whereabouts. The petitioner belongs to a respectable society. He has roots in the society. There is no chance of his absconding. He would abide by all the terms and conditions, which may be imposed by the court; therefore, it was prayed that the present petition be allowed and the petitioner be released on bail.

(2.) The police filed a status report asserting that the informant is the daughter of the deceased Shakuntla Devi. The deceased was residing alone after the death of her husband. The informant received a call on 26/6/2022 at 11.41 p.m. She picked up the phone but could not hear what was being said on the other side. She called back. The call was received by one person who revealed that Aunty was pelting the stones and that she should be counselled. The informant inquired as to what he was doing in the middle of the night. The informant suspected that somebody was quarrelling with her mother. She called Jugdei and asked her to verify the facts. Jugdei went to the spot and found the dead body of Shakuntla. The matter was reported to the police. The police recorded the FIR and conducted the investigation. The police picked up the articles lying on the spot. The accused revealed on inquiry that he had run away with Kaushalya. Shakuntla scolded him. The police checked the call detail record of the petitioner and found that the petitioner was in the vicinity of the area where the dead body was found. He had thrown a mobile phone when he was apprehended. He could not give any satisfactory reason for throwing the mobile phone. The police arrested the petitioner. He got recovered the stone which was used by him for hitting. The deceased also stated that he could get one bed sheet, one silver necklace, two silver bangles and one mobile recovered. However, these articles were not recovered as they were washed away in the flowing water. The cause of death was head injury caused by blunt force as per the postmortem report. 217.15 mg. % ethyl alcohol was found in the blood of the deceased. As per the report of analysis, the DNA from the hair of the socks of the petitioner matched with the DNA from the blood of the deceased. The police prepared the challan and presented it before the Court of learned Session Judge on 22/7/2023.

(3.) I have heard Mr. Ritesh Bhardwaj, learned counsel for the petitioner and Mr. Prashant Sen, learned Deputy Advocate General for the respondent/State.