Santosh Kumar v. State of U.P

Court No. - 66 Case :- CRIMINAL MISC. BAIL APPLICATION No. - 47872 of 2023 Applicant :- Santosh Kumar Opposite Party :- State of U.P. Counsel for Applicant :- Ram Pravesh Yadav,Sadrul Islam Jafri,Sr. Advocate Counsel for Opposite Party :- G.A. Hon'ble Ajay Bhanot,J. By means of the the bail application the applicant has prayed to be enlarged on bail in Case Crime No. 110 of 2023 at Police Station-Mohammadabad, District-Mau under Sections 498A, 304B I.P.C. and Section 3/4 of Dowry Prohibition Act. The applicant is in jail since

01.04.2023. The bail application of the applicant was rejected by the learned trial court on 12.05.2023. The following arguments made by Shri N.I. Jafri, learned Senior Counsel assisted by Sri Sadrul Islam Jafri, learned counsel on behalf of the applicant, which could not be satisfactorily refuted by Sri Suchit Tandon, learned AGA from the record, entitle the applicant for grant of bail:

¶1The applicant is the husband of the deceased.

¶2The applicant never harassed the deceased nor did he demand dowry.

¶3The deceased had a love interest. She was married with the applicant against her wishes. The deceased became depressed on account of failure of her relation with her love interest to materlize.

¶4On the fateful day after some minor altercation over purchase of a mobile phone she took the extreme step of committing suicide.

¶5The postmortem report opines the cause of death as asphyxia due to antemortem hanging.

¶6Injuries depicted in the postmortem report consistent with hanging are:

(i) Saliva dribbling on the right side. Ligature mark in front of going backward obliquely place. Subcutaneous tissue under neath ligature mark is white hard and glistering. Gap between the both end of ligature mark.

¶7The applicant did not aid or abet the suicide.

¶8Prosecution evidence do not connect the applicant with the offence.

¶9The prerequisites for attracting the presumption and the reversing the burden of proof are not established in the facts and circumstances and evidence of the case.

¶10The applicant does not have any criminal history apart from the instant case.

¶11The applicant is not flight risk. The applicant being law abiding citizen have always cooperated with the investigation and undertakes to join the trial proceedings. There is no possibility of their influencing witnesses, tampering with the evidence or reoffending. In the light of the preceding discussion and without making any observations on the merits of the case, the bail application is allowed. Let the applicant-Santosh Kumar be released on bail in the aforesaid case crime number, on furnishing a personal bond and two sureties each in the like amount to the satisfaction of the court below. The following conditions be imposed in the interest of justice:-

(i) The applicant will not tamper with the evidence or influence any witness during the trial.

(ii) The applicant will appear before the trial court on the date fixed, unless personal presence is exempted. Order Date :- 8.11.2023 Pravin High Court of Judicature at Allahabad