1 APPA.1291-2011 acd IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION CRIMINAL APPLICATION NO. 1291 OF 2011 IN CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 947 OF 2011 Santosh Ramchandra Malbare ...Applicant. Vs. The State of Maharashtra ...Respondent. ---- Mr. M.S. Mohite i/b Prashant Patil, for the Applicant.. Mr. P.S. Hingorani, APP for the State. ---- CORAM: V.M. KANADE & M.L. TAHALIYANI, JJ. NOVEMBER 14, 2011. P.C.:- 1. Heard learned counsel for the applicant. Mr. Hingorani, learned A.P.P. appears for the State. 2. The applicant has been convicted for the offence punishable under Section 304 read with Section 34 of I.P.C. The applicant is the original accused no.1. The prosecution case is that an old woman Smt. 2 APPA.1291-2011 Shakuntala was found dead in a flat. Her legs and hands were tied with rope and piece of cloth was thrust into her mouth. Three days after the said incident, the applicant was arrested on 20.11.2006 and the ornaments were recovered at his instance. Thereafter the other two accused were also arrested. 3. Admittedly, there is no direct evidence against the applicant in this case. The entire case is based on the circumstantial evidence. The prosecution has relied on the evidence of the watchman of the building who had stated that two persons entered the building and crossed over the adjoining terrace, and thereafter they were not seen. The watchman has identified accused nos 2 and 3. However, the applicant has not been identified. This being the only material on record, in our view, the applicant deserves to be released on bail. The applicant has already undergone five years of actual sentence, and the appeal is not likely to come up for final hearing immediately within next few years. Hence, we pass the following order: (i) The applicant be released on bail on execution of P.R. Bond in the sum of Rs.10,000/- with one or two sureties in the like 3 APPA.1291-2011 amount. (ii) The applicant shall report to the concerned Police Station once in a month. 4. Criminal Application stands disposed of. (M.L. TAHALIYANI, J.) (V.M. KANADE, J.)