Smt. Gudiya v. State of U.P. Thru. Prin. Secy. Home Deptt., Lko

Court No. - 14 Case :- CRIMINAL MISC. BAIL APPLICATION No. - 14992 of 2023 Applicant :- Smt. Gudiya Opposite Party :- State Of U.P. Thru. Prin. Secy. Home Deptt., Lko. Counsel for Applicant :- Virendra Pratap Singh Yadav,Beena Mishra,Shraddha Gupta,Vimlesh Kumar Counsel for Opposite Party :- G.A. Hon'ble Mohd. Faiz Alam Khan,J.

¶1Learned A.G.A. informs that he has procured complete instructions in the matter including upto date case diary of the case and charge sheet in this case has been filed.

¶2Heard Shri Vimlesh Kumar, learned counsel for the accused-applicant as well as learned counsel representing the State and perused the record.

¶3This bail application has been moved by the accused/applicant-Smt. Gudiya for grant of bail, in Case Crime No.94 of 2023, under Sections 498-A, 304-B, 504, 506 I.P.C. & 3/4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act, Police Station Baba Bazar, District Faizabad/Ayodhya, during trial.

¶4Learned 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.

¶5It is further submitted that the applicant is the sister-in-law (jethani) 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 brother-in-law (devar) 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 found 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, who is married to one Shyam Lal, was living separately and was not having any concern with their affairs.

¶6To buttress his submission, learned counsel for the applicant has drawn attention of this Court towards the photocopy of the Ration Card placed as Annexure No.7 of the paper book, wherein the address of the applicant has been shown as of 118, Nayapurwa, Lohati Saraiyan, Rudauli, Faizabad. It is further submitted that general allegations of demand of dowry and committing cruelty in lieu thereof has been made against all the accused persons named in the F.I.R. as well as in the statement of the prosecution witnesses, 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.

¶7It is next submitted that applicant is in jail in this case since

23.07.2023 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.

¶8Learned 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.

¶9Having heard learned counsel for the parties and having perused the record, it is evident that the applicant is the sister-in-law (jethani) of the deceased, who has died after one year of her marriage with brother-in-law (devar) of the deceased. It is also shown by referring to the Ration Card placed at page No.47 of the paper book that the applicant since her marriage was living separately and therefore, no liability could be fastened on the applicant to explain the circumstances, under which the deceased had committed suicide. The postmortem report of the deceased would reveal that apart from a ligature mark found 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. General allegations of demand of dowry and committing cruelty in lieu thereof has been made against all the accused persons named in the F.I.R. as well as in the statement of the prosecution witnesses, however, no overt act or specific allegation has been levelled against the applicant. Applicant is in jail in this case since 23.07.2023 without any previous criminal history. The presence of the applicant could be secured before the trial court by placing adequate conditions.

¶10Having 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.

¶11Let the accused/applicant-Smt. Gudiya 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.

¶12In case of breach of any of the above conditions, it shall be a ground for cancellation of bail.

¶13Identity, status and residence proof of the applicant and sureties be verified by the Court concerned before the bonds are accepted.

¶14Observations 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 :- 19.12.2023 Anupam S/- High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, Lucknow Bench