1 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION CRIMINAL APPLICATION NO. 696 OF 2009 Jafar Mohammad Shaikh ..... Applicant. V/s The State of Maharashtra ..... Respondent. ----- Mrs. J. M. Koparar with Mr. Rahul Kasliwal for the applicant. Mr. D.P. Adsule, APP for the State. ----- CORAM : V.M. KANADE, J. DATE : 6th March, 2009 P.C.:- 1. Heard the learned Counsel for the applicant and the learned APP for the State. 2. Applicant has been arrested in connection with the offence punishable under sections 302, 363, 452, 323, 504, 506 read with section 34 of the Indian Penal Code which is registered at Nashik Road Police Station vide C.R. No. I – 171 of 2008. Charge-sheet has been filed. 3. Prosecution case is that all accused took the deceased near well and, thereafter, threw him in the well. Counsel for the applicant invited my attention to the statement of Sunita 2 Ramesh Bhalerao which was recorded on 18/4/2008. This witness in her statement had stated that the present applicant jumped into the well and rescued the deceased and removed water from his stomach and, at that time, the deceased told her that he was alright and thereafter the deceased was taken by the present applicant to the hospital where, unfortunately, he died. The postmortem notes reveal that the death was due to drowning. Counsel for the applicant submits that the applicant, in fact, had tried to rescue the deceased. Taking into consideration aforesaid peculiar facts and circumstances of the case, in my view, applicant deserves to be released on bail. 4. The learned APP submitted that after the deceased was admitted in the hospital, the applicant and others ran away from the hospital. In my view, the said circumstance alone would not indicate that the applicant shares common intention of other accused in committing murder of the deceased. The fact that the applicant had jumped into the well and had rescued him and, thereafter, taken him to the hospital clearly reveals that he did not share the intention of other accused. 5. Under these circumstances, applicant be released on bail in C.R. No. I – 171 of 2008 in the sum of Rs 5000/- with one or two sureties in the like amount. He shall report to the concerned Police Station once in a month. He shall not tamper with the prosecution evidence or threaten any of the 3 witnesses. 6. Trial Court shall not be influenced by the observations made by this Court while deciding this application for bail as these observations are of prima facie nature. 7. Application is disposed of. (V.M. KANADE, J.)