The seriousness of the allegations, including gang rape, influenced the court's decision in revoking the interim bail for two of the petitioners while granting bail to the others.

JUDGMENT :

B.A. No. 359/2023

1. Petitioners through the medium of this bail application filed under Section 438 of the Code of Criminal Procedure seeks bail in anticipation of their arrest in case FIR No. 351/2021 registered at Police Station, Bahu Fort, Jammu at the instance of the respondent No. 2 (wife of the petitioner No. 1) for commission of offences punishable under Sections 354, 342, 498, 498-A, 504 & 506 IPC, asserting therein that the marriage of petitioner No. 1 was solemnized on 23.10.2020 and after performance of the rituals, the respondent No. 2-wife of the petitioner No. 1 joined his company at her matrimonial house; that the marriage between them was dowryless except some gift items like fridge, A.C, washing machine, furniture and utensils; that the father of the respondent No. 2, who is a superstitious person, forced the petitioners to take her to a tantrik at Sunjwan, Jammu and when she was taken there, she and her sister began to create a drama and the father of his wife abused and insulted the petitioners publically; that in April, 2021, the wife’s father told the petitioners to take her to Kishtwar for offering prayers at Dargah, so the petitioners alongwith her nephew and brother went there; that in July, 2021, she again got ill and her father called the petitioner No. 1 and told him to take her again to the same tantrik, to which the petitioner No. 1 refused, however, his father-in-law again began to torture and compel the petitioners to take her to tantrik, after which in order to calm the situation, the petitioner Nos. 1 to 3 took her to a Dargah in Badori, where she offered prayers and she was given holy water to drink by the Molvi; that the wife of the petitioner No. 1 started misbehaving and abusing petitioner Nos. 2 to 4 without any reasonable cause and forced the petitioner No. 1 to permanently get separately from his family members and caused mental cruelty to petitioner No. 1 and his family members. Though petitioner No. 1 tried his tooth and nail to reconcile the situation, yet as his wife was abetted and instigated by her parents, conditions got worsened and the relationship between them got deteriorated.

2. It was alleged that on 08.09.2021, wife of the petitioner No. 1 created a scene while being restrained from clicking photographs at Shrine of Kaller Shariet and without any reasonable cause, did not return to her matrimonial house despite intervention from the members of the community. It was further alleged that the impugned FIR is based on concocted story, which the wife of the petitioner No. 1 has lodged after a lapse of about two months after leaving the house of the petitioner No. 1; that the petitioners are being unnecessarily harassed due to her ulterior motives; that the allegations leveled in the impugned FIR are completely baseless, false and frivolous besides being with ulterior motives. It was finally prayed that the petitioners be admitted to bail in anticipation of their arrest in the case.

3. This Court vide interim order dated 12.11.2021 admitted the petitioners to interim bail. The complainant was impleaded as respondent No. 2 in the petition in terms or order dated 22.03.2022.

4. The official respondents filed the objections, asserting therein that the petitioners cannot claim bail as a matter of right, because they are involved in heinous offences punishable under Sections 354, 342, 498, 498-A, 504 & 506 IPC registered at Police Station, Bahu Fort, Jammu; that the liberty of the accused is subservient to the interests of public at large and in order to restore the confidence of the public in the justice delivery system, it is imperative that the accused involved in serious crimes should be denied the bail. It has been further pleaded that on a written complaint on 28.10.2021, a case was registered at Police Station, Bahu Fort, Jammu vide FIR No. 351/2021 for commission of offences punishable under Sections 354, 352, 498, 498-A, 504 & 506 IPC, however, during investigatio