Mumbai, Jul 22 (PTI) A Mumbai court has granted bail to two persons — one each supporter of NCP (SP) MLA Jitendra Awhad and BJP legislator Gopichand Padalkar — in the case pertaining to scuffle in the Maharashtra legislature complex premises here last week.
The court, in its order while granting bail on Monday, said keeping them in jail will serve no purpose as they are ready to obey bail conditions.
Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (in-charge), Esplanade court, K S Zanwar granted bail to Awhad’s supporter Nitin Deshmukh and Padalkar’s supporter Sarjerao Takale, noting despite getting ample custody of the accused police failed to find out at whose behest they committed the act.
“Moreover, nothing has been found during investigation regarding the motive,” the court observed.
Both the accused have been released on a bail bond of Rs 25,000 each.
The duo was arrested on July 18 following a violent altercation between supporters of Awhad and Padalkar in the assembly lobby when the legislature was having its monsoon session.
They were produced before the court at the end of their police remand on Monday and sent to jail under judicial custody.
After being sent to jail, Deshmukh and Takale applied for bail, arguing there was no recovery or progress in custodial investigation.
In their pleas, the duo claimed they have been falsely implicated in the case and no purpose will be served by keeping them in jail.
Prosecution opposed their pleas on the ground the offence against them was serious in nature and investigation was still in progress.
If the accused are enlarged on bail there was a possibility of them tampering of evidence, the police submitted.
The court, after hearing both sides, held that perusal of the entire record reveals that investigation is now of technical nature like collection of CCTV footage from the crime scene.
“Keeping them behind bars for a further period would be of no use specially when they are ready to obey conditional bail,” the judge ruled, while allowing their pleas.
On July 17, supporters of Awhad and Padalkar came to blows on the ground floor of the legislature building even as the monsoon session of the legislature was underway. The incident occurred a day after the two legislators of the rival parties were involved in a heated exchange of words on July 16.
The Marine Drive police arrested Deshmukh and Takale on charges of unlawful assembly, intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace, and assault or obstructing a public servant when suppressing riots. PTI AVI GK RSY
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