Criminal Misc. Bail Application No. 4354 of 2021 arises in a case involving alleged furnish of dowry leading to the death of the applicant's pregnant wife. The High Court rejected the bail plea, holding that given the nature of the offence and the suspect's role, no case for bail was made out.
Rejection of bail application.
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Court No. - 80
Case :- CRIMINAL MISC. BAIL APPLICATION No. - 4354 of 2021
Applicant :- Ajay Raghav Opposite Party :- State of U.P. Counsel for Applicant :- Ashwini Kumar Tripathi,Atharva Dixit,Kanchan Sharma,Manish Tiwary(Senior Adv.),Prashant Vyas Counsel for Opposite Party :- G.A.,Aishwarya Pratap Singh
Hon'ble Umesh Chandra Sharma,J.
Heard Shri G.S. Chaturvedi, learned Senior Counsel, assisted by Shri Prashant Vyas, learned counsel, for the applicant, Shri Aishwarya Pratap Singh, learned counsel for the informant as well as Sri Pankaj Tripathi, learned A.G.A. for the State and perused the record.
The instant application for bail has been moved on behalf of the applicant- Ajay Raghav with the prayer to enlarge him on bail in Case Crime No. 954 of 219 under Section 498A, 304 B, 302 I.P.C. and Section 3/4 of D.P. Act Police Station- Sector 49 Noida, District- Gautam Budh Nagar, during pendency of the trial.
Learned counsel for the applicant has submitted that the first information report is based on false and fabricated facts. The accused/ applicant is innocent, who has been falsely implicated in this case because he happens to be the husband of the deceased. That only general and omnibus allegations of demand of dowry have been levelled against the applicant. The applicant himself had informed about the incident and had also rushed the deceased to the Hospital. As per the opinion of the doctor who had conducted the post-mortem, the cause of death was ascertained to be asphyxia due to strangulation while the hyoid bone of the deceased was found to be intact which is highly improbable. The submission of learned counsel for the applicant is that this is a case of simple suicide with the absence of abetment on the part of the applicant. As per the inquest report, there were marks of injury present on the back of the deceased with clotted blood, however, as per the postmortem report, injuries on the base of thumb were noted by the doctor which may be caused while trying to hang. The mother of the deceased in her statement recorded under Section 161 Cr.P.C. has categorically stated that the marriage of the deceased with the applicant was love marriage, therefore, the allegation of demand of dowry is baseless and false. As a matter of fact the applicant used
to work in a private sector enterprise in Voltas Company and was posted at Calcutta while on the other hand the deceased wife was also working in a private sector enterprise at Noida; at the time of the unfortunate incident, the deceased conceived a baby and therefore she wanted the applicant to stay with her regarding which some dispute arose between them and being annoyed the deceased took the grave steps of ending up her own life. No specific role has been assigned to the accused/ applicant. Therefore, the accused/ applicant deserves to be enlarged on bail during pendency of the trial.
Lastly, it has been submitted that the accused/applicant is languishing in jail since 20.08.2019, who has no previous criminal history and in case, the applicant is enlarged on bail, he will not misuse the liberty of bail and he will also fully cooperate with the trial court in getting the trial concluded expeditiously. He has also submitted that the applicant will not intimidate or pressurize the witnesses or any other persons acquainted with the facts of the present case.
Per contra, learned A.G.A. for the State and learned counsel for the informant have vehemently opposed the prayer for grant of bail by submitting that the accused/ applicant is named in the first information report, who has done his wife to death due to demand of dowry. The accused/ applicant is husband of the deceased, who has a higher degree of responsibility towards safety and well being of the deceased, his wife. The deceased has died in her matrimonial house within seven years of her marriage with the accused/applicant. The deceased was a pregnant lady and it is quite improbable that any pregnant lady would try to end her life rather giving life to her child. The cause of death of the deceased, according to postmortem report, is reported to be asphyxia due to strangulation. Therefore, the accused/ applicant does not deserve to be enlarged on bail in any manner.
Having heard learned counsel for the applicant, learned A.G.A. for the State and upon perusal of record, it transpires that the accused/ applicant is named in the first information report, who happens to be husband of the deceased. The deceased has died in her matrimonial house within seven years of her marriage with the accused/ applicant. The cause of death of the deceased, according to postmortem report, is reported to be shock and hemorrhage due to antemortem injuries. There are seven ante-mortem injuries reported on the person of the deceased. The informant in her statement under Section 161 Cr.P.C. has stated that the accused/ applicant demanded dowry and treated the deceased with cruelty
due to non-fulfilment of demand of dowry. Generally no pregnant lady would commit suicide. The accused/ applicant being husband of the deceased has a higher degree of responsibility towards safety and well being of the deceased.
Thus, having regard to the aforesaid overall facts and circumstances of this case and also keeping in view the arguments advanced on behalf of the parties, nature and manner of commission of offence and evidence regarding the complicity of the applicant, no case for bail at this stage is made out.
Accordingly, the instant application for bail is rejected.
Order Date :- 16.3.2023 S.Verma
Digitally signed by :- SANDEEP KUMAR VERMA High Court of Judicature at Allahabad
1 issue framed by the court
Whether the applicant is entitled to bail in a criminal trial involving offences under Sections 498A, 304B, and 302 IPC for alleged dowry-related death of his pregnant wife.
Ajay Raghav
State of U.P.
Umesh Chandra Sharma
As recorded by the court registry
Judgements on the same questions, provisions and authorities, from every court
