Pramila Dubey v. State of U.P. Thru. Prin. Secy. Home Lko

Court No. - 14 Case :- CRIMINAL MISC. BAIL APPLICATION No. - 12932 of 2023 Applicant :- Pramila Dubey Opposite Party :- State Of U.P. Thru. Prin. Secy. Home Lko. Counsel for Applicant :- Sukh Deo Singh,Paritosh Shukla Counsel for Opposite Party :- G.A.,Rajiv Kumar Bajpai Hon'ble Mohd. Faiz Alam Khan,J.

¶1Counter affidavit filed by the complainant is taken on record.

¶2Learned A.G.A. informs that he has procured complete instructions in the matter including upto date case diary of the case.

¶3Heard Shri Paritosh Shukla, learned counsel for the accused-applicant as well as learned A.G.A. for the State, Shri Rajiv Kumar Bajpai, learned counsel for the complainant and perused the record.

¶4This bail application has been moved by the accused/applicant-Pramila Dubey for grant of bail, in Case Crime No.289 of 2023, under Sections 498-A, 304-B I.P.C. read with Section 3/4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act, Police Station Kotwali Dehat, District Sultanpur, during trial.

¶5Learned counsel for the accused-applicant while pressing the bail application submits that the applicant has been falsely implicated in this case and she has not committed any offence as claimed by the prosecution.

¶6It is further submitted that the applicant is the mother-in-law of the deceased and she had never demanded any dowry or subjected the deceased to cruelty in lieu of any demand and all the averments made in the F.I.R. as well as in the statement of the prosecution witnesses are false, concocted and could not be believed. The deceased was married to the son of the applicant and she appears to have committed suicide, which is also evident from the postmortem report, wherein cause of death of the deceased has been shown due to asphyxia as a result of ante mortem hanging and apart from a ligature mark around the neck of the deceased, no other injury has been found on the person of the deceased and in presence of the husband of the deceased, no liability or responsibility could be fastened on the applicant to explain the circumstances, under which the deceased had committed suicide as the applicant was living separately in the same house and was not having any concern with their affairs.

¶7It is further submitted that general allegations of demand of dowry has been made against all the accused persons named in the F.I.R., however, no overt act or specific allegation has been levelled against the applicant and in presence of the husband of the deceased, the applicant could never be the beneficiary of the dowry, which was being allegedly demanded. Identically placed co-accused person namely Surendra Dubey (father-in-law of the deceased) has been granted bail by this Court vide order dated

07.11.2023 passed in Criminal Misc. Bail Application No.13241 of 2023.

¶8It is next submitted that applicant is in jail in this case since

17.08.2023 and she is not carrying any criminal history. There is no apprehension that after being released on bail the applicant may flee from the course of law or may otherwise misuse the liberty.

¶9Learned A.G.A., however, opposes the prayer of bail of the applicant on the ground that the applicant has committed an heinous offence and having regard to the material/evidence available against the applicant, she is not entitled to be released on bail.

¶10Shri Rajiv Kumar Bajpai, learned counsel for the complainant vehemently opposes the prayer of bail of the applicant on the ground that the applicant has committed an heinous offence and having regard to the material/evidence available against the applicant, she is not entitled to be released on bail.

¶11Having heard learned counsel for the parties and having perused the record, it is evident that the applicant is the mother-in-law of the deceased. The postmortem report of the deceased would reveal that apart from a ligature mark around the neck of the deceased, no other injury has been found on the person of the deceased and the cause of death of the deceased has been ascertained as asphyxia as a result of ante mortem hanging. It is vehemently submitted by learned counsel for the applicant that the deceased appears to have committed suicide and in presence of the husband of the deceased, the liability could not be fastened on the applicant, who was living separately, to explain the circumstances, under which the deceased had committed suicide. Identically placed co-accused person namely Surendra Dubey (father-in-law of the deceased) has been granted bail by this Court. Applicant is in jail in this case since 17.08.2023 without any previous criminal history. The presence of the applicant could be secured before the trial court by placing adequate conditions.

¶12Having regard to the overall facts and circumstances of the case and keeping in view the nature of the offence, evidence, complicity of the accused, severity of punishment, submissions of the learned counsel for the parties and without expressing any opinion on the merits of the case, I am of the considered view that applicant has made out a case for bail. The bail application is thus allowed.

¶13Let the accused/applicant-Pramila Dubey involved in above-mentioned case, be released on bail on her furnishing a personal bond with two sureties in the like amount to the satisfaction of the court concerned subject to following conditions:-

(i) The applicant shall not tamper with the prosecution evidence by intimidating/pressurizing the witnesses, during the investigation or trial.

(ii) The applicant shall cooperate in the trial sincerely without seeking any adjournment.

(iii) The applicant shall not indulge in any criminal activity or commission of any crime after being released on bail.

¶14In case of breach of any of the above conditions, it shall be a ground for cancellation of bail.

¶15Identity, status and residence proof of the applicant and sureties be verified by the Court concerned before the bonds are accepted.

¶16Observations made herein-above by this court are only for the purpose of disposal of this bail application and shall not be construed as an expression of this Court on the merits of the case. Order Date :- 8.11.2023 Anupam S/- High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, Lucknow Bench