Urmila Devi v. State of U.P

Court No. - 37 Case :- CRIMINAL MISC. BAIL APPLICATION No. - 43213 of 2023 Applicant :- Urmila Devi Opposite Party :- State of U.P. Counsel for Applicant :- Srijan Mehrotra,Anil Kumar Mehrotra Counsel for Opposite Party :- G.A.,Arvind Singh Hon'ble Ajay Bhanot,J. By means of the bail application the applicant has prayed to be enlarged on bail in Case Crime No. 150 of 2023 at Police Station-Obra, District-Sonbhadra under Sections 498A, 304B IPC and Section 3/4 of Dowry Prohibition Act. The applicant is in jail since

11.07.2023. The bail application of the applicant was rejected by the learned trial court on 16.08.2023. The following arguments made by Shri Anil Kumar Mehrotra, learned counsel assisted by Shri Ashwini Patel, learned counsel on behalf of the applicant, which could not be satisfactorily refuted by Shri Arvind Singh, learned counsel on behalf of the informant and Ms. Sujata Chaudhary, learned AGA from the record, entitle the applicant for grant of bail:

¶1The applicant is the mother-in-law of the deceased.

¶2The applicant never demanded dowry nor did he harass the victim.

¶3The applicant did not interfere in the marital life of the victim and her husband. The applicant is bereaved by the death of her daughter-in-law.

¶4The deceased was depressed as she failed to conceive a child even after several years of marriage and despite medical treatment for infertility.

¶5On the fateful day, she succumbed to depression and took the extreme step of ending her life. She committed suicide by hanging.

¶6The postmortem report opines the cause of death as asphyxia due to antemortem hanging.

¶7Injuries depicted in the post mortem report consistent with hanging are:

(i). Nature of ligature marks.

(ii). No abnormality was detected in the hyoid bone.

¶8The applicant did not abet or instigate the deceased to commit suicide.

¶9The prerequisites for attracting the presumptions under Section 304B IPC are not made out in the facts and circumstances and evidence of the case.

¶10Prosecution evidence does not connect the applicant with the offence.

¶11The applicant claims congruency in role and seeks parity in relief granted to the co-accused Amar Singh who has been enlarged on bail by this Court by order dated 14.09.2023 passed in Criminal Misc. Bail Application No. 40148 of 2023.

¶12The applicant does not have any criminal history apart from this case.

¶13The applicant is not a flight risk. The applicant being a law abiding citizen has always cooperated with the investigation and undertakes to join the trial proceedings. There is no possibility of her 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-Urmila Devi 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 :- 30.11.2023/Vandit High Court of Judicature at Allahabad High Court of Judicature at Allahabad