1 APPA-957.11 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY APPELLATE SIDE CRIMINAL APPLICATION NO.957 OF 2011 IN CRIMINAL APPEAL NO.845 OF 2011 1. Balasaheb Vasudeo Ligade 2. Popat Pandurang Bhosale 3. Appasaheb Gopal Patil 4. Pandurang Narayan Sutar 5. Kiran Balasaheb Patil 6. Vaibhav Shankar Patil 7. Pandurang Vishnu Patil 8. Balasaheb Bajrang Patil 9. Nandkumar Madhukar Patil 10. Babasaheb Balasaheb Patil 11. Surykant Appasaheb Patil 12. Vasant Vishnu Patil 13. Vasant Vithal Patil 14. Gopal Dinkar Patil 15. Shivaji Eknath Patil 16. Dinkar Vinayak Pawar 17. Janardan Pandurang Desai 18. Maruti Shankar Pawar 19. Jagannath Shankar Pawar 20. Rajesh Shankar Ligade 21. Vilas Govinda Mane 22. Anil Shankar Parit 23. Vilas Anandrao Patil 24. Narayan Rangrao Mandale 25. Vasant Vinayak Pawar 26. Vijay Jagannath Patil 27. Babasaheb Shamrao Patil .... Applicants Vs. State of Maharashtra .... Respondent S/Shri A.P. Mundargi, Senior Counsel i/b Kedar J. Patil for the Applicants. 2 APPA-957.11 Shri Rajesh More, APP, for the State. CORAM: R.C. CHAVAN, J. DATED: AUGUST 12, 2011 P.C: 1. This is an application for bail by 27 convicts who have been held guilty of the offences punishable under Sections 436, 435, 427, 295, 336. 342, 353, 504 and 506 r/w Section 149 of the IPC, as also Section 147 of the IPC and have been sentenced to various terms of imprisonments ranging from six months to seven years for various offences by the learned Addl. Sessions Judge, Sangli. The applicants were on bail throughout the trial. 2. One Rajesh Mane, belonging to the Scheduled Caste, had kidnapped the daughter of Vishwas Sonkar on 15-9-1998. On the same night, a mob of about 40-50 persons is alleged to have gone in search of the said Rajesh Mane and the girl who was kidnapped. The mob, which included the present applicants, allegedly burnt houses of several persons. The police were informed on telephone and a police party reached the spot. The PSI verified the situation and asked two 3 APPA-957.11 police constables to guard the place. The remaining police party went in search of Rajesh Mane and the girl who had been kidnapped. Again rioting broke out in the morning and a mob of 400-500 persons, which included the present applicants, attacked the houses of persons belonging to the Scheduled Castes and set them on fire. The police party which was in search of Rajesh Mane learnt of this and immediately reached the village at about 8:00 a.m. and found the rioting going on. On hearing the siren of the police vehicle, the mob dispersed. The FIRs in respect of both the incidents were recorded at about 3:00 p.m., spot panchnama had been drawn up and the police had commenced investigation. On completion of the investigation, charge-sheet was filed which led to the trial of 104 accused persons which included the applicants. After considering the prosecution evidence in the light of the defence raised, the learned Judge held the present applicants guilty. 3. The learned counsel for the applicants submitted that the persons whose houses were set on fire have not been examined as witnesses. In spite of such serious riotings, only two persons are shown to have been injured 4 APPA-957.11 and the injuries observed by PW-16 Dr. Dilip Jadhav are minor. He pointed out that PWs-1, 2, 5, 6 and 14 are the only witnesses who claim to have seen the incident. All of them had not named each of the applicants. The learned Judge seems to have convicted the applicants because each of the applicants was named by one or the other of these five witnesses. PW-3 Kantabai, who had not identified any person, stated that a mob of 400-500 persons were charging at her house. She closed the door and was sitting inside the house with her daughters, etc.. The mob allegedly forced the door open, took out clothes from the almirah and set the clothes on fire by pouring kerosene on it. She curiously states that on hearing their shouts, the mob went away. PW-2 Nita Mane, who was stated to be an eye-witness to the incident, had not named any of the applicants except Rajesh Ligade, Vilas Patil, Narayan Mandale, Vasant Pawar and Babasaheb Patil. She named these persons in the context of the second incident which occurred on the next morning. It is rather difficult to believe that when the police officer had posted two police constables in the village, a mob would again indulge in rampage in the village, when as disclosed by PW-3, the mob had run away merely on hearing shouts of Kantabai and her 5 APPA-957.11 children. The police constables who were in the village and who were examined as witnesses did not identify any of these persons as indulging in rioting on the next day. Therefore, the story about fresh rioting on the next day would need a scrutiny when the appeal is finally heard. PW-5 Bhaskar Mane stated that he was at his house when the incident at night took place. On seeing the mob he was frightened and locked himself up in the house. After about one hour he came out and found that the house of Sadashiv Mane and Ramchandra Mane had been burnt. He states that on the next morning, at about 8:30 a.m., 300-400 persons were coming towards their locality. On seeing the mob he took to his heels after locking his house and claims to have seen the incident from his field and then named some of the applicants as the perpetrators of the second riot. The evidence of this witness about the first riot is deficient, since he had locked himself up in the house and his identification of the miscreants of the second riot will also have to be scrutinised since he claims to have gone to the field on seeing the mob. 4. PW-6 Mansing Mane stated that on the incidental night a mob pelted stones and set 6 APPA-957.11 some houses on fire. On seeing a police van coming the miscreants ran away. He had named some of the applicants. He states that on the next morning he went for his duty in his factory at about 7:00 a.m. and learnt of the second incident when he was in the factory. He states that his own house suffered a loss to the tune of Rs.250/-. Initially he had stated that the damage was caused to the house on account of the incident at night and then corrected himself to say that the damage took place in the morning. Though he was a panch at the panchnama drawn up by the police, he did not state about the incident till 24-9-1998, that is almost eight days after the incident. The learned counsel for the applicants, therefore, questions the probability of this person having actually seen the incident. In the cross-examination this witness stated that when the incident took place at night, he was inside his house and he came to know of the incident on the next morning. Thus, he had seen nothing in the night and when the morning incident took place, he was in the factory. Therefore, the value of his evidence is zero. Considering this nature of the evidence, thought it may not be appropriate to make any observations on the reliability or otherwise of 7 APPA-957.11 the evidence, it would be unsafe to keep the applicants behind bars till the appeal is taken up for hearing, which may occur after years. Right now, this Court is hearing appeals of persons who are in jail for 7-8 years out of their 10-year term. Considering this, as also the fact that the applicants have been on bail throughout, except for applicant No.15 Shivaji Eknath Patil, who has been named by two witnesses  PWs-1 and 14  as having participated in the riots, the others who have been named by a sole witness without any corroboration, may have to be admitted to bail. So, except applicant No.15 Shivaji Eknath Patil, all the other applicants be released on each of them furnishing fresh bonds of the same sum on which they had been on bail throughout the trial. The applicants shall scrupulously keep themselves away from any further mischief and shall report at the police station concerned on the first Sunday of every month between 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. till the appeal is decided. The application accordingly stands disposed of. (R.C. CHAVAN, J.)