Rani Devi v. State of Haryana

o o o INoTHEoHIGHoCOURToOFoPUNJABoANDoHARYANAoATo CHANDIGARHo o o o o o o o o 149o o o o o o ooCRM-M-11899-2026oo o o o ooDateoofodecision:oo16.03.2026o o o o Dateoofouploading:oo16.03.2026o o o o RanioDevio o o o ....Petitionerooo o V/so o StateoofoHaryanaoo o o ....Respondento o o CORAM:oo HON'BLEoMR.oJUSTICEoSUMEEToGOELo o Present:oo Mr.oSahiloChoudharyoAdvocateoforotheopetitioner.oo o o o o Ms.oMahimaoYashpaloSingla,oSenioroDAG,oHaryana.o o o o o o oo *****o SUMEEToGOEL,oJ.o(ORAL)oo o

1.o o Presento petitiono iso theo thirdo attempt,o whicho haso beeno filedo underoSectiono483oofoBNSo2023oforograntooforegularobailotootheopetitioneroino caseobearingoFIRoNo.o31odatedo20.02.2023,oregisteredounderoSectionso302o ando120-BoofotheoIndianoPenaloCodeo(nowocorrespondingotooSectionso103o ando61(2)oofotheoBharatiyaoNyayaoSanhita)oandoSectiono25oofotheoArmsoAct,o 1959,oatoPoliceoStationoSectoro20,oPanchkula,oDistrictoPanchkula,oHaryana.o

2.oo o Theo caseo seto upo ino theo FIRo ino questiono (aso seto outo byo theo petitioneroinotheopresentopetition)oisoasofollows:-o CRM-M-11899-2026o o P a g e o|o2o o o "Theocopyoofotheoletteroisoasofollows:oInoserviceoInchargeoPoliceo ChowkioSectoro19oPanchkulaoSir,oIorequestothatoIoRajeshoGuptao sono ofo Shrio Ramo Narayano Guptao residento ofo Houseo No.o 488o VillageoMoulioPoliceoStationoMoulioJangraoU.T.oChandigarh,o myoageoiso35oyears.oMyopermanentoaddressoisovillageoBainiwado Policeo Stationo Katrao Districto Muzaffarpuro Bihar.o Ando Io amo livingoinoChandigarhosinceochildhood.oMyomother'sofatherohado fourobrothers.oOutoofowhichooneobrother'sosonoisoShivoKumaro ShahosonoRajendraoShahoVillageoMahmadabadoPoliceoStationo BirsinghpuroDistrictoSamastipuroBihar.oByorelationoShivoKumaro Shahoisomyomaternalouncle.oMyomaternalouncleohasobeenolivingo withohisofamilyoinovillageoAbhaypuroHouseoNo.o348oPanchkulao foromanyoyearsoandomyomaternalouncleoisomarriedotooRanioDevio foroabouto17oyears.oHeohasotwoochildren,oelderodaughteroSimrano Kumario ageo 16o yearso ando youngero sono Shivao Kumaro ageo 15o years.oMyomaternalouncleoShivoKumaroSahohadoearlieroworkedo inoShaktioBhogoFlouroMilloPlotoNo.o3oPhase-2oPanchkulaoforo manyoyears.oButoafterothisomillowasoclosed,omyomaternalouncleo ShivoKumaroSahousedotoodoodailyowageolabour.oMyomaternalo uncleoShivoKumaronowadaysoworksoasoaolaboureroatoaotileostoneo shopo nearo Patialao Roado Zirakpur.o Wheno myo maternalo uncleo usedotooworkoinotheoflouromill,oheousedotooworkoforoaocontractoro namedoVijendra.oDueotoowhichoVijendraousedotoocomeotoomyo maternalouncle'sohouse.oMyomaternaloauntoRanioDeviohadoano illicito relationshipo witho Vijendra.o Abouto whicho myo maternalo uncleo usedo too tello meo sometimes.o Dueo too thiso reason,o ino theo montho ofo Juneo 2022,o myo maternalo aunto Ranio Devio lefto hero childrenoandowentoawayofromohomeoandolaterocameoback.oButo thereowasoaoriftobetweenomyomaternalouncleoandoauntoregardingo thisomatter.oTodayoono20.02.2023,oIoreceivedoaocallofromomyo brothero Ramnath'so mobileo numbero 6283959756o fromo myo maternalo villageo Mahmadabado districto Samastipuro Biharo ono mobileonumbero6206709746.oWhenoIotalkedoonotheophone,omyo maternalograndfatheroGaneshotoldomeothatosomeoneohasokilledo youromaternalouncleoShivoKumaroSahoandothrownohimoinoPloto No.o33oPhase-2oPanchkula.oFindooutoaboutothis.oAfterothis,oIo reachedomyomaternalouncleoShivoKumaroSah'sohouseowhereomyo maternalo aunto Ranio Devio toldo meo thato ono 19.02.2023,o myo maternalouncleoShivoKumaroSahoreturnedohomeofromohisoworkoato CRM-M-11899-2026o o P a g e o|o3o o o aroundo 09.00o pmo witho householdo goods.o When.o myo maternalo auntoRanioDevioaskedomyomaternalouncleotooeatofood,oheotoldomeo thatoIowilloeatoafterosomeotime.oAfterothatomyouncleowentotoohiso friendoMadhav'soroomo andowhenoheodidonotoreturnohomeoforo abouto ano hour,o myo aunto ando hero sono Shivao Kumaro wento too Madhav'soroomoandosawothatomyouncleowasonotothere.oMadhavo wasofoundoinotheoroom.oHeotoldousotoogoohome.oShivoKumaroSaho musto haveo goneo somewhere.o Heo willo returno ino ao littleo while.o Aftero this,o myo maternalo uncle'so sono Shivao Kumaro calledo myo uncle'so mobileo numbero 7280058438o fromo hiso mobileo numbero 9041468438o ato aroundo 10.30o pm.o Myo uncleo toldo uso thato heo wouldoreturnohomeoinoaolittleowhile.oYouoallogootoosleep.oAftero this,omyoauntoandotheochildrenowentotoosleepoandomyouncleodido notoreturnohomeotheowholeonight.oAfterothis,oweocameotootheospot,o PlotoNo.o33,oPhase-2,oPanchkula.oWhereotheodeadobodyoofomyo maternalouncleoShivoKumaroSahoisolyingobehindotheotrucksoinoano emptyoplotowithowoundsoonohisoneck,ochest,ostomach.oThereoareo manyodeepowoundsoonotheoleftolegoandoleftohandocausedobyoao sharp-edgedo weapon.o Io amo sureo thato myo maternalo aunto Ranio Devi,o ino connivanceo witho Vijendrao Thekedar,o haso killedo myo maternalouncleoShivoKumaroSahobyostabbingohimowithoaosharp-edgedo weapono too eliminateo himo dueo too theiro illicito relations.oo Legaloactionoshouldobeotakenoagainstothem.oSD-RajeshoGupta."o

3.o o Learnedo counselo foro theo petitionero haso submittedo thato theo petitionero iso ino custodyo sinceo 22.02.2023.o o Learnedo counselo foro theo petitionerohasofurtherosubmittedotheopetitionerohasobeenofalselyoimplicatedo intootheoFIRoinoquestion.ooLearnedocounseloforotheopetitionerohasofurthero arguedothatoassumingoarguendo,otheoprosecutionoversionoavailableoatothiso junctureoisotakenotoobeocorrect,otheocaseoisonotoonoanoeyeowitnessoaccounto andotheoco-accusedoisostatedotoobeoparamouroofotheopetitioner,oonoaccountoofo whicho theo husbando ofo theo petitionero waso murdered.o o Learnedo counselo appearingoforotheopetitionerohasofurtherosubmittedothatotheopetitioneroisoino CRM-M-11899-2026o o P a g e o|o4o o o custodyoforomoreothano3oyearsoandoisoaoladyowithocleanoantecedents.ooThus,o regularobailoisoprayedofor.oo

4.o o Learnedo Stateo counselo opposedo theo granto ofo bailo too theo petitionerobyoarguingothatotheoallegationsoraisedoareoseriousoinonatureoand,o thus,o theo petitionero doeso noto deserveo theo concessiono ofo regularo bail.oo Learnedo Stateo counselo seekso too placeo ono recordo custodyo certificateo datedo o14.03.2026oinoCourt,owhichoisotakenoonorecord.o

5.o o Iohaveoheardocounseloforotheopartiesoandohaveogoneothroughotheo availableorecordsoofotheocase.oo o

6.o o Theo petitionero waso arrestedo ono 22.02.2023o whereinaftero investigationowaso carriedo outoando challano wasopresentedo ono20.04.2023.oo Totalo20oprosecutionohaveobeenocited,ooutoofowhicho7ohaveobeenoexaminedo ando3ohaveobeenogivenoupotillodate.ooItoisonotoinodisputeothatotheoconclusionoofo trialowillotakeolongotime.ooAtothisojuncture,oitowouldobeoappositeotoorefero hereinotootheodictaopassedobyotheoHon'bleoSupremeoCourtoJavedoGulamo Nabio Shaikho vs.o Stateo ofo Maharashtrao ando another,o 2024(3)o RCRo (Criminal)o494,orelevantowhereoforeadsothus:o o "18.oCriminalsoareonotobornooutobutomade.oTheohumano potentialoinoeveryoneoisogoodoandoso,oneverowriteooffoanyocriminalo asobeyondoredemption.oThisohumanistofundamentaloisooftenomissedo whenodealingowithodelinquents,ojuvenileoandoadult.oIndeed,oeveryo sainto haso ao pasto ando everyo sinnero ao future.o Wheno ao crimeo iso committed,o ao varietyo ofo factorso iso responsibleo foro makingo theo offendero commito theo crime.o Thoseo factorso mayo beo socialo ando economic,omayobe,otheoresultoofovalueoerosionooroparentaloneglect;o mayo be,o becauseo ofo theo stresso ofo circumstances,o oro theo manifestationoofotemptationsoinoaomilieuoofoaffluenceocontrastedo CRM-M-11899-2026 P a g e | 5

o o 19'oIfotheoStateooroanyoprosecutingoagencyoinclu%ingotheo courtoconcerne%ohasonoowherewithalotooprovi%eooroprotectotheo fun%a#entalo righto ofo ano accuse%o too haveo ao spee%yo trialo aso enshrine%oun%ero4rticleo<1oofotheoConstitutionothenotheoStateooro anyootheroprosecutingoagencyoshoul%onotoopposeotheopleaoforo6ailo onotheogroun%othatotheocri#eoco##itte%oisoserious'o4rticleo<1oofo theoConstitutionoappliesoirrespectiveoofotheonatureoofotheocri#e'Bo The rival contentions of the learned counsel for the parties; as to the whether the petitioner has been falsely implicated into the FIR, shall be gone into during the course of trial. This Court does not deem it appropriate to delve deep into these rival contentions, at this stage lest it may prejudice the rights of either of the parties. &othingotangibleohasobeeno bro!ghto orwardo too indicateo theo li4elihoodo o o theo petitionero abscondingo romotheoprocessoo o:!sticeoorointer eringowithotheoremainingoprosec!tiono e9idence.

6.2. The petitioner is a lady aged about 38 years (as per memo of parties appended with the petition), hence, bail petition ought to be considered in view of proviso to Section 480(2) BNSS. It is pertinent to mention herein that the proviso to Section 480 BNSS, 2023, is pari materia with proviso to Section 437 Cr.P.C., 1973. In this regard, it would be apposite to refer herein to a judgment passed by this Court on 14.03.2024 in CRM-M-11503-2024 titled as 'Ravinder Kaur Vs. State of Punjab' (dealing with proviso to Section 437 Cr.P.C.), relevant thereof reads as under: "It would be apposite to refer herein to the dicta of a judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in a case of 'Satender Kumar Antil Vs. Central Bureau of Investigation & Anr., 2022(10) SCC 51' , which held as under:

¶51Proviso to Section 437 of the Code mandates that when the accused is under the age of sixteen years, sick or infirm or being a woman, is something which is required to be taken note of. Obviously, the court has to satisfy itself that the accused person is sick or infirm. In a case pertaining to women, the court is expected to show some sensitivity. We have already taken note of the fact that many women who CRM-M-11899-2026 P a g e | 6

o commit cognizable offenses are poor and illiterate. In many cases, upon being young they have children to take care of, and there are many instances when the children are to live in prisons. The statistics would show that more than 1000 children are living in prisons along with their mothers. This is an aspect that the courts are expected to take note of as it would not only involve the interest of the accused, but also the children who are not expected to get exposed to the prisons. There is a grave danger of their being inherited not only with poverty but with crime as well. xxxx xxxx xxx

¶58Section 437 of the Code empowers the Magistrate to deal with all the offenses while considering an application for bail with the exception of an offense punishable either with life imprisonment or death triable exclusively by the Court of Sessions. The first proviso facilitates a court to conditionally release on bail an accused if he is under the age of 16 years or is a woman or is sick or infirm, as discussed earlier. This being a welfare legislation, though introduced by way of a proviso, has to be applied while considering release on bail either by the Court of Sessions or the High Court, as the case may be. The power under Section 439 of the Code is exercised against an order rejecting an application for bail and against an offence exclusively decided by the Court of Sessions. There cannot be a divided application of proviso to Section 437, while exercising the power under Section 439. While dealing with a welfare legislation, a purposive interpretation giving the benefit to the needy person being the intendment is the role required to be played by the court. We do not wish to state that this proviso has to be considered favourably in all cases as the application depends upon the facts and circumstances contained therein. What is required is the consideration per se by the court of this proviso among other factors."

6.3. *nd!bitably,otheopresentopetitionoisotheothirdoattemptoonobehal o o otheopetitionero orosec!ringoreg!larobail.oo5heo irstooneobearingono.o.+M-M-0";0$-'('"owasodismissedoono'2.($.'('2o/Anne<!reoP-21owhereasotheo secondooneobearingo.+M-M-$,$$0-'('2owasodismissedoasowithdrawnoono ';.,,.'('2o/Anne<!reoP-01.oooHowe9er,o4eepingoino9iewotheoentiretyoo o actsoandocirc!mstanceoo otheocaseoinohandoespeciallyo4eepingoino9iewotheo e<tendedoc!stodyoandopaceoo otrial,othiso.o!rtoisoinclinedotoo a9o!rablyo considerotheoinstantopleao orobail.oAopro itableore erence,oinothisoregard,ocano beomadeotooao:!dgmentoo othiso.o!rtopassedoinoCRA-S-2332-2023otitledoaso RafiqoKhanoversusoStateoofoHaryanaoandoanother=orele9antowhereo oreadso aso!nder7oo >1?'o o 4so ano epilogueo too theo a6oveo %iscussion,o theo followingo principlesoe#erge:oo CRM-M-11899-2026o o P a g e o|o7o o o Io Second/successiveo regularo bailo petition(s)o filedo iso maintainableo ino lawo &o henceo sucho petitiono oughto noto too beo rejectedosolelyoonotheogroundoofomaintainabilityothereof.o o II.oo Sucho second/successiveo regularo bailo petition(s)o iso maintainableo whethero earliero petitiono waso dismissedo aso withdrawn/dismissedo aso noto pressed/dismissedo foro non-prosecutionooroearlieropetitionowasodismissedoonomerits.oo o IIIo oForo theo second/successiveo regularo bailo petition(s)o too succeed,otheopetitioner/applicantoshallobeoessentially/pertinentlyo requiredo too showo substantialo changeo ino circumstanceso ando showingoofoaomereosuperficialooroostensibleochangeowouldonoto suffice.oTheometaphoricoexpressionoofoseekingosecond/successiveo bailo plea(s)o oughto noto beo abstractedo intoo literalo iterationso ofo petition(s)o withouto substantial,o effectiveo ando consequentialo changeoinocircumstances.oo o IVo oNooexhaustiveoguidelinesocanopossiblyobeolaidodownoasotoo whato wouldo constituteo substantialo changeo ino circumstanceso aso everyocaseohasoitsoownouniqueofacts/circumstance.oMakingosucho anoattemptoisonothingobutoanoutopianoendeavour.ooErgo,othisoissueo isobestoleftotootheojudicialowisdomoandodiscretionoofotheoCourto dealingowithosuchosecond/successiveoregularobailopetition(s).o Vo oIno caseo ao Courto chooseso too granto second/successiveo regularobailopetition(s),ocogentoandolucidoreasonsoareopertinentlyo requiredotoobeorecordedoforograntingosuchopleaodespiteosuchoao pleao beingo second/successiveo petition(s).o Ino othero words,o theo causeoforoaoCourtohavingosuccessfullyocountenanced/entertainedo suchosecond/successiveopetition(s)ooughtotoobeoreadilyoandoclearlyo decipherableofromotheosaidoorderopassed."o o

7.o o Asoperotheocustodyocertificateodatedo14.03.2026ofiledobyotheo learnedoStateocounsel,otheopetitionerohasosufferedoincarcerationoforo3oyearso &o23odaysoandoisonotoshownotoobeoinvolvedoinoanyootheroFIR/case.o o o Sufficeotoosay,otheofurtherodetentionoofotheopetitioneroinocustodyo isonotorequiredoinotheofactsoandocircumstancesoofotheocase.ooo

8.o o Inoviewoofoabove,otheopresentopetitionoisoallowed.oPetitioneroiso orderedotoobeoreleasedoonoregularobailoonoherofurnishingobail/suretyobondsotoo theosatisfactionoofotheoLd.oconcernedotrialoCourt/DutyoMagistrate.oHowever,o ino additiono too conditionso thato mayo beo imposedo byo theo concernedo trialo Court/DutyoMagistrate,otheopetitioneroshalloremainoboundobyotheofollowingo conditions:o CRM-M-11899-2026o o P a g e o|o8o o o

(i)o Theopetitioneroshallonotomis-useotheolibertyogranted.oo

(ii)oo Theopetitioneroshallonototamperowithoanyoevidence,ooralo orodocumentary,oduringotheotrial.oo

(iii)oo Theo petitionero shallo noto absento herselfo ono anyo dateo beforeotheotrial.oo

(iv)oo Theopetitioneroshallonotocommitoanyooffenceowhileoono bail.oo

(v)oo Theopetitioneroshallodepositoheropassport,oifoany,owithotheo trialoCourt.oo

(vi)o Theopetitioneroshallogiveoherocellphoneonumberotootheo InvestigatingoOfficer/SHOoofoconcernedoPoliceoStationo ando shallo noto changeo hero cell-phoneo numbero withouto prioropermissionoofotheotrialoCourt/IllaqaoMagistrate.oo

(vii)o Theopetitioneroshallonotoinoanyomannerotryotoodelayotheo trial.oo oo

9.o o Inocaseoofobreachoofoanyoofotheoaforesaidoconditionsoandothoseo whicho mayo beo imposedo byo concernedo CJM/Dutyo Magistrateo aso directedo hereinaboveo oro upono showingo anyo othero sufficiento cause,o theo State/complainantoshallobeoatolibertyotoomoveocancellationoofobailoofotheo petitioner.oo

10.oo o Orderedoaccordingly.oo

11.o o Nothingosaidohereinaboveoshallobeoconstruedoasoanoexpressiono ofoopinionoonotheomeritsoofotheocase.oo

12.oo o Sinceotheomainocaseohasobeenodecided,opendingomiscellaneouso application,oifoany,oshalloalsoostandsodisposedooff.o o o o o o o o o ooooooo o (SUMEEToGOEL) o oooooooooooooooooooooo o oooooooooooooooooooJUDGEo Marcho16,o2026o Naveeno o Whetherospeaking/reasoned:o o Yes/Noo o o o Whetheroreportable:o o o Yes/Noo