Observing that it was “not necessary to pre-empt the decision of the Sessions court” in a case where most of the witnesses, including the complainant, have turned hostile, the Bombay high court has granted bail to a man accused of killing his wife’s boyfriend.
Justice CV Bhadang, on Wednesday, granted bail to one Laxman Khutekar who was accused of killing his wife’s boyfriend in 2019 in Pune. He was charged with various sections under the Indian Penal Code and Arms Act.
“It is not necessary to pre-empt the decision of the Sessions case at this stage,” observed the HC while granting bail against a personal bond of Rs 25,000.
According to the prosecution, Khutekar had an affair with a woman. Even after her marriage in 2000, the affair allegedly continued. Even Ashok Biradar, the deceased, married another woman in 2013. Despite that their affair continued.
Annoyed by this, Khutekar killed Ashok on April 16, 2019. the complaint was lodged by Ashok’s brother, Gurubalappa.
The trial has already commenced in the case.
Sana Raees Khan, the advocate for Khutekar, argued that
Adv Sana Raees Khan argued that most of the witnesses in the case, including the complainant, had turned hostile and were not supporting the prosecution. This shows that the investigating authorities have conducted a bogus investigation and falsely implicated Khutekar as they failed to trace the real culprits, said Khan.
Further, only blood-stained clothes were recovered from Khutekar and the chemical analysis report of the same is still awaited. Hence there is no weightage to the prosecution's claim of recovery of evidence, added Khan.
The court noted that even the additional public prosecutor JS Lohokare “in all fairness submitted that the material prosecution witnesses have been examined and have not supported the prosecution”.
