The court granted bail to the accused-petitioner, emphasizing the lack of strong evidence and the special provisions for women under Section 437 CrPC.

Order

29/01/2024

1. The jurisdiction of this court has been invoked by way of filing an instant application under Section 439 CrPC at the instance of accused-petitioner. The requisite details of the matter are tabulated herein below:

2. It is contended on behalf of the accused-petitioner that no case for the alleged offences is made out against him and his incarceration is not warranted. There are several flaws and laches in the case of the prosecution. There are no factors at play in the case at hand that may work against grant of bail to the accused- petitioner and he has been made an accused based on conjectures and surmises.

3. Contrary to the submissions of learned counsel for the petitioner, learned Public Prosecutor opposes the bail application and submits that the present case is not fit for enlargement of accused on bail.

4. Have considered the submissions made by both the parties and have perused the material available on record. It is the case of the prosecution that on the night of 16.12.2022, the deceased caught the petitioner talking with someone on the phone in a very suspicious manner and due to which a scuffle arose between them. A few of the family members arrived at the place of the deceased and tried to mediate. Next day, it is allgedd by the daughter in law of the petitioner that she was not at home. Thereafter, the deceased was found dead on the next morning. The allegations that the petitioner killed the deceased seem to be very omnibus in nature provided that there is no eye witness account of the incident and considering that the prosecution is itself admitting that the petitioner was missing from the house the night before. It is also not comprehensible that when multiple family members are living next to each other then how come nobody noticed that two persons entered the house and strangulated the deceased to death that too when he was sleeping out in the open in the verandah. Whether the ingredients which are essential to constitute an offence under Section 302 of the IPC are attracted or not in the present set of facts would be a debatable question and the same can only be adjudged after full- fledged trial. The evidence collected by the prosecution against the petitioner are subjected to scrutiny by the learned trial Court after taking on record the entire material but at this stage when charge sheet has been filed and the petitioner who is a 36 years old lady, is behind bars and presumably the trial will take a considerable long time, this Court feels taking a lenient view regarding bail. The petitioner is a lady for which special provisions have been made under Section 437 Cr.P.C . in the case titled as Sangeeta Vs. State of Rajasthan in S.B. Criminal Misc. Bail Application No.1102/2024 decided on 05.03.2024, this Court has passed an order granting bail in relation to releasing a female on bail while considering the provision 437 Cr.P.C . In view of the above, taking into consideration the fact that the petitioner has no criminal antecedents and there is no apprehension that she will flee from justice if she released on bail likewise there is no allegation that she, in any manner, would hamper or tamper the prosecution evidence, this Court is of the opinion that the instant bail application filed on behalf of the petitioner deserves to be accepted in view of Section 437 Cr.P.C . Be that as it may, the facts and circumstances discussed herein above in this matter have been considered only for the limited purpose of justifiable disposal of the bail application and shall bear no effect on the trial whatsoever.

5. Accordingly, the instant bail application under Section 439 Cr.P.C . is allowed and it is ordered that the accused-petitioner shall be enlarged on bail provided she f