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Synopsis

The Bombay High Court recently granted bail to a man who was booked for the murder of a relative following a scuffle over demanding a cell phone.

A single-judge bench of the Bombay High Court, comprising Justice Madhav Jamdar, was hearing a bail application filed by a man booked under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code.

The applicant was a close relative of the deceased. According to the prosecution's case, the incident occurred when the deceased demanded a cell phone from the applicant, who refused to provide it, leading to a scuffle between them.

During the scuffle, the deceased's uncle attempted to intervene. However, the applicant then used a knife to assault the deceased.

The uncle and other relatives rushed the deceased to the hospital. Initially, one hospital refused admission, so they took the deceased to another hospital where he eventually succumbed to the injuries.

Advocates Aniket Vagal, Divesh Mehani, Kunal Pednekar, and Savvy Kolhekar, appearing for the applicant, contended that the incident occurred in the spur of the moment. They added that no pre-planning was involved, and therefore, the applicant is entitled to be released on bail.

Additional Public Prosecutor Sameer Mangaonkar vehemently opposed the bail application and stated that there were eyewitnesses to the incident.

The bench noted that the applicant was arrested in November 2022, yet the charges were not framed.

“Perusal of the record shows that the incident occurred on 26th November 2022, the Applicant was arrested on 26th November 2022 and the Charge-sheet was filed on 22nd February 2023. As per the Charge-sheet, prosecution proposes to examine 13 witnesses. Till date even the Charge is also not framed yet. The Applicant is in custody for more than 1 year and 5 months,” the court said.

Therefore, the court allowed the application and granted him bail.

Case title: Arif Khan Asif Khan vs State of Maharashtra