Bombay HC grants bail to man accused of killing wife’s lover

A single-judge bench of Justice C V Bhadang was hearing bail plea by Khutekar, who was booked under several provisions of the Indian Penal Code, the Arms Act and the Maharashtra Police Act.

According to Pune Police, the brother of the deceased had filed a complaint on April 17, 2019, a day after the incident. The deceased had an affair with the applicant’s wife. It was submitted that the deceased, who had also got married to another person, had continued the affair with the applicant’s wife, despite his brother and others trying to persuade him against the same. Thus, according to the prosecution, the applicant had assaulted him on being annoyed. The chargesheet was filed after an investigation and the trial commenced before a Pune sessions court.

Advocate Sana Raees Khan, representing the applicant, submitted that all prosecution witnesses in the case, who claimed to be eye-witnesses, had turned hostile. She added that the brother of the deceased was also not supporting the prosecution, which established that the investigating agencies had created a bogus investigation and falsely implicated the applicant.

Advocate J S Lohokare, representing the police, conceded that the material prosecution witnesses have been examined and have not supported the prosecution.

The bench held: “It is not necessary to pre-empt the decision of the sessions case at this stage. However, considering the fact that the material prosecution witnesses have not supported the prosecution, the applicant can be released on bail.”