High Court granted bail to petitioner arrested in suicide case involving child marriage provisions after perusals of record, consideration of period of detention, and finding no clinching evidence against him.
Petitioner released on bail by furnishing bond and sureties to satisfaction of court.
This page shows the compact analysis of this judgement. The full analysis — procedural history, issue-by-issue holdings with ratio and obiter, advocates, and paragraph-level evidence for every claim — is being added to the record in batches and will appear here when this judgement has been through it.
IN THE HIGH COURT OF ORISSA AT CUTTACK
BLAPL No. 550 of 2021
Sarthak Chhuria …. Petitioner
Bharati Dash, Advocate
-versus-
State of Odisha …. Opp. Party Mr.A.K. Beuria, Addl. Standing Counsel
CORAM:
JUSTICE S.K. SAHOO
ORDER Order No. 16.08.2021 I.A. No.403 of 2021 03. This matter is taken up through Hybrid arrangement (video conferencing/physical Mode). This is an application for interim bail. Learned counsel for the petitioner does not want to press the interim application. Accordingly, the I.A. is disposed of as not pressed. ( S.K. Sahoo) Judge
Order No.
BLAPL No. 550 of 2021
04
Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and learned counsel for the State.
This is an application for bail under section 439
of Cr.P.C. in connection with Bargarh Sadar P.S. Case No.322 of 2020 corresponding to C.T. Case No. 1213 of 2020 pending in the file of learned S.D.J.M., Bargarh for alleged commission of offences under section 306 read with section 34 of the Indian Penal Code and sections 10 and 11 of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006.
The prayer for bail of the petitioner was rejected by the learned Sessions Judge, Bargarh vide order dated 12.01.2021.
Perused the prisoner’s petition of the petitioner dated 16.07.2021, in which request has been made to engage Mr. S.K. Jena, learned counsel as his Advocate. Mr. Jena has also filed his Vakalatanama which is accepted.
Mr. S.K. Jena, learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that the petitioner is in judicial custody since 02.12.2020 and he has been charge sheeted under section 306 read with section 34 of the Indian Penal Code and sections 10 and 11 of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006. It is further submitted that the deceased Ganga Chhuria was having love affairs with her front door neighbor Kishan Kumbhar and they got married and after their marriage, the husband of the deceased subjected her to torture for which she consumed Champa fruits, for which she was shifted to hospital but expired after a day. It is aggrieved that there is no such clinching materials
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on record against the petitioner to attract the ingredients of the offence under section 306 of the Indian Penal Code and the main allegation is against Kishan Kumbhar and therefore, the bail application of the petitioner may be favourably considered.
Learned counsel for the State on the other hand placed the statement of one Bijaya Chatria before whom the deceased Ganga Chhuria had made oral dying declaration in which she has implicated her husband as well as the petitioner to that effect that she was unable to tolerate the words of her husband as well as the petitioner for which she consumed poison. He also placed the statement of Jita Muguri, who is the neighbor of the deceased. The post mortem report indicates that the cause of death of the deceased was on account of poisoning.
Considering the submissions made by the learned counsel for the respective parties, the nature of accusation against the petitioner, surrounding circumstances under which the deceased consumed Champa fruits and post mortem report findings that there was no injury on any part of the body of the deceased and further taking into account the period of detention of the petitioner in judicial custody, I am inclined to release the petitioner on bail.
Let the petitioner be released on bail in the aforesaid case on furnishing a bail bond of Rs.50,000/- (rupees fifty thousand) with two local
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solvent sureties each for the like amount to the satisfaction of the learned Court in seisin over the matter with such other conditions as the learned Court may deem just and proper.
The BLAPL is accordingly disposed of.
Urgent certified copy of this order is granted on proper application.
( S.K. Sahoo) Judge
P
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1 issue framed by the court
Whether the petitioner should be granted bail in cases of alleged suicide under sections 306 and 10/11 PC.
1 provisions across 1 enactments
Sarthak Chhuria
State of Odisha
S.K. Sahoo
As recorded by the court registry
Judgements on the same questions, provisions and authorities, from every court
