1 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION CRIMINAL APPLICATION NO. 3212 OF 2009 ALONGWITH CRIMINAL APPLICATION NO. 2806 OF 2009 Mahendra Shankar Gavali Manik Sudhakar Jadhav ........ Applicants versus The State of Maharashtra ........Respondent. Mr. A.P:. Mundargi Sr. counsel i/b. Kuldeep S.Patil adv. for the Applicant Mr. H.J. Dedhia APP. for the Respondent/State. CORAM: A. P DESHPANDE, J. DATED : 18th September,2009. P. C.: 1. As both the applications arise out of the same C.R. No.I-46/08 registered with Raigad police station for offence punishable under sections 397, 395, 342 and 120-B of IPC and 3 and 25 of the Arms Act, I dispose of both the applications by this common order. 2. It is the case of the prosecution that 7/8 persons drove in the petrol pump in a white colour Suma car/jeep in the early hours on 3-11-2008. The vehicle did not have the number plate. Initially 3 or 4 persons got down from the car and slapped the boy who had reached the spot with a view to fill in the fuel and brought him to 2 the station. They were armed with pistol and other weapons. They had assaulted the employees working in the petrol pump and by threatening the guard who was having a single bore gun snatched the same from him. After damaging the furniture in the station room, they robbed an amount of Rs. 7,74,477/-, two mobiles and the single bore gun from the guard. They pulled down the shutter of the station house and fled. Thereafter one Umesh Tulshiram Chorghe who was an employee at the petrol pump lodged an FIR on 3-11-2008. Conspicuously enough the first informant had mentioned the vehicle wherein the offenders had come to the police station as Tavera van and the same turned out to be a Sumo van. The first informant after the investigation, has been found to be an accomplice and thus joined as an accused. The first informant Umesh is cousin brother of the applicant in Application no. 3212/09. According to the prosecution the car used for the commission of the offence of robbery/decoity turned out to be a white Sumo car and the same was recovered from the applicant Mahendra Gavali. The statement of the owner of the car was recorded and he has categorically stated that the applicant Mahendra Gavali had taken the car and the same was in his possession on the date of the commission of the offence,. The investigating officer has also recovered two country made pistol and live catridges from the garage owned by the present applicant. Besides recovery of the car and the weapon used in the offence, a sum of Rs. 3 lacs also came to be recovered from the bed room of the applicant. The 3 call details of the Idea cellular mobile are also produced on record by the prosecution to indicate that the present applicant was constantly in touch with the first informant Umesh, who is now added as one of the accused. Thus against the applicant in application No.3212/09 there are above referred circumstances to connect him with the crime. 3. So far as the applicant in Application No.2806/09 is concerned, he has been identified in the test identification parade by three eye witnesses by name Pankajsingh, Sandeep and Maruti Rasal as the person who had been the member of the group which robbed the cash from the petrol pump. An amount of Rs. 8000/- as well has been recovered from him. The learned counsel for the applicant contended that they are in custody for last about 7/8 months and they ought not to be further detained as the investigation is over and charge sheet has been filed. It is also stated that the circumstances appearing against the applicants are capable of being explained during the trial. Having regard to the nature and gravity of the offence, in my view this is not a fit case for release of the applicants on bail. Hence applications stand rejected. (A. P. Deshpande, J.)