- (1.) Leave granted.
(2.) On 02.06.2014 at about 9.00 P.M., the deceased Shaikh Mohsin was proceeding for dinner with another friend Riyaz. He was wearing a pastel green colour shirt and had a beard. According to the prosecution, the accused respondents before us, targeted them because they belonged to a certain community and started assaulting Shaikh Mohsin with hockey sticks, bats and stones. This resulted in his death. Apparently, the accused were said to have been highly motivated to do the act because they had attended a meeting of a body called Hindu Rashtra Sena about half and hour before the incident.
(3.) The accused applied for bail before the Sessions Court, Pune. The Sessions Court, Pune rejected the bail applications of the accused. The Sessions Court observed that 23 persons in all (including two juveniles in conflict with law) appeared to have assaulted the deceased and the other injured person. The deceased was assaulted because he looked like a Muslim and that the deceased prima facie had no concerned with disgracing Shivaji Maharaj. The Sessions Court found that prima facie, the accused were said to have been present in the meeting which was held at about 8.30 p.m. in which a conspiracy to kill the members of a certain community was hatched. The Sessions Court rejected the bail. The respondent applied for bail before the Bombay High Court. The Learned Single Judge of the High Court has, in a cryptic order directed the release of the accused mainly for the following reason; "The meeting was held half an (sic)prior to the incident of assault. The applicants/accused otherwise had no other motive such as any personal enmity against the innocent deceased Mohsin. The fault of the deceased was only that he belonged to another religion. I consider this factor in favour of the applicants/accused. Moreover, the applicants/accused do not have criminal record and it appears that in the name of the religion, they were provoked and have committed the murder." This observation is made following the observation that the accused had no personal animus against the deceased.;