Judgment The applicant seeks to be released on bail in crime No.7 of 2011 registered with Shahuwadi Police Station, District Kolhapur for the offences punishable under Sections 302, 392, 364, 201, 120-B r/w. Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code. 2. Heard the learned Counsel for the parties. Perused the investigation papers filed with the charge-sheet. 3. Prosecution case, in brief, is that, accused Leena was the second wife of deceased Nitin Padwal. Before her marriage with Nitin, she had love affair with accused No.1 Ravi Mane. After the marriage also, she continued her illicit affairs with Ravi. She had complained to Ravi that Nitin used to ill-treat her, and therefore, a conspiracy was hatched to eliminate Nitin. Ravi had taken a room in Hotel Maharaja where he was staying with his friends Vijay Chavhan, Kishor Mane, Dilip Dudhale and Amit Shinde from 09.01.2011. On 12.01.2011 at about noon time, the conspiracy was hatched. One Gitanjali Menase, a friend of Leena, was contacted and she was asked to persuade Nitin to come near Khadicha Ganapati, R.K.Nagar, Kolhapur, and accordingly, he came there in the evening. Dilip Dudhale asked the applicant Aakash @ Akshay to bring a vehicle and accordingly the applicant brought Qualis jeep No.MH-09-AN-8051 of Sunil Renke on hire. Nitin was assaulted and was forced to sit in the vehicle. Accused Amit Shinde assaulted Nitin with a baseball stick. In the vehicle, some of the accused persons tied his hands, legs and mouth. The vehicle was thereafter taken to hilly area of Waghzara. Thereafter Nitin was dragged out of the Qualis jeep and he was murdered by some of the accused persons. His head was severed from the body with a chopper. The dead body was thrown in the valley. The head was put in the plastic bag and it was shown to accused No.1 Ravi. Thereafter the head was thrown away. Motorcycle of the deceased was also thrown away in Warana River. The culprits travelled back to Hotel Maharaja situated at Kolhapur. On 13.01.2011, the present applicant returned the vehicle to its owner Sunil Baban Renke. Dead body was recovered by police on 21.01.2011 in a 50 feet deep valley. 4. Thereafter the head was thrown away. Motorcycle of the deceased was also thrown away in Warana River. The culprits travelled back to Hotel Maharaja situated at Kolhapur. On 13.01.2011, the present applicant returned the vehicle to its owner Sunil Baban Renke. Dead body was recovered by police on 21.01.2011 in a 50 feet deep valley. 4. According to prosecution, the present applicant was a friend of the accused persons and was aware about the conspiracy to commit the murder and he had facilitated the commission of offence by driving the vehicle and taking them to the spot of the incident. Admittedly, there is no witness of the conspiracy or about the actual commission of murder. The whole case is based on the circumstantial evidence. The incident had occurred during the night between 12.01.2011 and 13.01.2011. Dead body was found on 21.01.2011. The clothes and other materials were referred to the Forensic Laboratory for DNA test and other reports. It appears that after receipt of DNA report and confirmation that the dead body was of Nitin, police arrested some of the accused persons on 31.07.2011, and thereafter, statements of some of the witnesses were recorded. On perusal of the police papers it appears that, whole of the prosecution story has been put in the mouth of every witness as if each witness was an eye-witness to the whole episode from beginning to end. The learned APP could not point out any material to show that the present applicant was a friend of Ravi or any of his friends. The statement of Dnyanoba Phadtare, Manager of Hotel Maharaja, Kolhpur, shows that Ravi was staying in room No.104 of Hotel Maharaja from 09.01.2011 to 13.01.2011 along with his four friends. Applicant Aakash @ Akshay was not one of them. Witness Sunil Renke was owner of the vehicle. From his statement it appears that, Sunil Renke used to give his Qualis jeep on hire and the present applicant used to work as badli driver or alternative driver when his regular driver would not be available. From his statement it appears that, whenever any party wanted any vehicle to be hired, they used to contact the driver and the driver used to take his vehicle for that assignment. From his statement it appears that, whenever any party wanted any vehicle to be hired, they used to contact the driver and the driver used to take his vehicle for that assignment. Accordingly on 12.01.2011 in the morning, the present applicant had taken the vehicle stating that there were passengers in Hotel Maharaja and they wanted to go to Satara. On the next day morning, the vehicle was brought back and the hire was paid. The learned APP vehemently contended that even though all the culprits travelled by that vehicle, committed the murder and returned, the present applicant kept mum and never disclosed this fact to anybody. However, he could not point out any material from the record to show that the present applicant was party to the conspiracy or to the commission of the offence of murder. Only material against him appears to be that, he was asked to bring vehicle on hire, and thereafter, culprits travelled by his vehicle. Prosecution case does not go beyond that. The applicant was a young boy aged about 18 years or so at the time of the incident. Taking into consideration all the facts and the material against the present applicant, even though it was a brutal and gruesome murder, I do not find any reason to refuse bail to the present applicant. 5. Therefore, the applicant be released on his executing P.R. of Rs.50,000/-with one or two sureties to make up the amount with condition that he shall not tamper with the prosecution evidence and he shall report at Shahuwadi Police Station on every Sunday between 4.00 and 6.00 p.m.