Narendra @ Sonu v. State of U.P

HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD CRIMINAL MISC. BAIL APPLICATION No. - 31435 of 2026 Court No. - 66 HON'BLE ARUN KUMAR SINGH DESHWAL, J.

¶1Heard Sri Ajai Kumar Srivastava, learned counsel for the applicant, Sri Surendra Kumar Tripathi, learned counsel for the first informant and Sri Anand Pratap Singh, learned A.G.A. for the State and perused the record.

¶2The instant bail application has been filed with a prayer to release the applicant on bail in Case Crime No.66/2026, under Sections-85, 80(2), 115(2) B.N.S. & 3/4 D.P. Act, Police Station - Kirawali, District-Agra, during the pendency of the trial.

¶3Contention of learned counsel for the applicant is that the applicant is husband of the deceased and he has been falsely implicated though there is no material to show that soon before her death, she was subjected to cruelty for non-fulfillment of demand of dowry. It is further submitted that the deceased herself committed suicide by hanging after a petty dispute over household issues. Charge sheet has been filed by the police, therefore, there is no requirement for custodial interrogation. The applicant has no criminal history and he is languishing in jail since 07.04.2026. In case, he is granted bail, he will not misuse the liberty of bail and would cooperate in the trial proceedings.

¶4On the other hand, learned counsel for the first informant and learned A.G.A. for the State have vehemently opposed the prayer for bail and submitted that the deceased died within 7 years of her marriage under unnatural circumstances. He further submitted that statements of witnesses recorded during investigation show that the Versus Counsel for Applicant(s) : Ajai Kumar Srivastava Counsel for Opposite Party(s) : G.A., Jigyasha Tripathi, Surendra Kumar Tripathi Narendra @ Sonu .....Applicant(s) State of U.P. .....Opposite Party(s) applicant had been continuously harassing the deceased for non-fulfillment of demand of dowry which resulted into suicide by the deceased, therefore, he is not entitled to be released on bail.

¶5Considering the submissions of learned counsel for the parties and taking into account the fact that the applicant is husband of the deceased, who committed suicide by hanging within 7 years of her marriage and evidence collected during investigation shows that she was subjected to cruelty with regard to demand of dowry prior to her death, therefore, in view of presumption of dowry death under Section 118 of Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, this Court is not inclined to grant bail to the applicant.

¶6Accordingly, the present bail application is rejected.

¶7Application, if any, stands disposed of.

¶8However, considering the fact that applicant is in jail and taking into account the direction of the Apex Court in Writ Petition (Crl.) No.99 of 2025 (Liakat Ali Vs. State of Jammu and Kashmir), the court below is directed to conclude the trial as expeditiously as possible. September 8, 2026 S.C. BAIL No. 31435 of 2026 (Arun Kumar Singh Deshwal,J.) High Court of Judicature at Allahabad