IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION CRIMINAL APPLICATION NOS. 20 & 21 of 2008 IN CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 20 OF 2008 1)Gopal @ Pankaj Baban Gedam 2)Shibu Narayan Ghosh 3)Uttamkumar Sukun Kumar (Appln.No.20/08) ......Applicants (Orig.Accd.Nos.1, 3 & 4) Amar Ram Kamble..(Appln.No.21/08)...Applicant(Orig.Accd.No.2) V/s State of Maharashtra ..... ...... ......Respondent. Ms.Pushpa S. Mane and K.S.Patil, Adv. For the applicants. Mr.S.R.Shinde, APP For the respondent. CORAM: A.P.DESHPANDE, J. 13/2/08 PC: Original accused Nos.1, 3 and 4 are the applicants in criminal application no.20/08 whereas in criminal application No.21/08 original accused No.2 is the applicant. Applicants are convicted for the offence punishable under section 399 of Indian Penal Code and each of them is sentenced to suffer rigorous imprisonment for five years and pay fine of Rs.2000/-, in default to suffer simple imprisonment for six months. The prosecution case in brief is that the present applicants along with one Rakesh had assembled below flyover bridge in front of Durga Hotel, Shastri Nagar, Malkapur. The complainant Shri Paigude, PSI was proceeding from Kolhapur Naka to Malkapur when he noticed the present applicants' 1 movements at the said place. Hence the complainant and his companions went towards them for making inquiries, the applicants started running, three of them were chased and apprehended by the police and other two ran away. Allegedly incriminating articles like screw driver, blades, knife and katawini were found in possession of the applicants as per the panchnama. One of the panchas is operating tea stall near the said flyover bridge. The case of the applicants is that they had assembled at the said place to fetch a vehicle for going to Kolhapur as vehicles used to stop at that place. Panch witness P.W.1 in his cross examination has admitted that the place where the applicants had assembled was on the highway which is full of traffic. He has also admitted that vehicles used to stop at the said place and carry passengers for Kolhapur and Pune as the case may be. Learned counsel for the applicants has placed reliance on a judgment i the case of Chaturi Yadav & Ors. V/s State of Bihar, AIR 1979 SC 1412. On perusal of the said judgment in my view, this is a fit case for grant of bail. I am informed that accused No.2 was on bail during the trial. However other accused were not released on bail. They are in custody for last 2½ years. The appeal is not likely to come up for final hearing before expiry of the remainder part of sentence. Hence I direct that the applicants be released on bail subject to furnishing PR bonds in the sum of Rs.10,000/- each with one local surety in the like amount. The applicants shall attend Karad city police station on every first Sunday of each month. Both the applications stand disposed of in above terms. 2