Amit S/O Ramdas vs State Of U.P. Thru. Prin. Secy. ...
2022 Latest Caselaw 10224 ALL

HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD, LUCKNOW BENCH
 
 

?Court No. - 13
 

 
Case :- CRIMINAL MISC. BAIL APPLICATION No. - 8057 of 2022
 

 
Applicant :- Amit S/O Ramdas
 
Opposite Party :- State Of U.P. Thru. Prin. Secy. Home Lko.
 
Counsel for Applicant :- Rahul Kumar Singh,Ashok Kumar Singh
 
Counsel for Opposite Party :- G.A.
 

 
Hon'ble Shamim Ahmed,J.

This case is taken up in the revised call.

Learned A.G.A. has filed counter affidavit today in Court. The same is taken on record.

Learned counsel for the applicant submits that he does want to file rejoinder affidavit to the counter affidavit filed by learned A.G.A..

Heard learned counsel for the applicant and learned A.G.A. for the State and perused the record.

This bail application has been moved by the accused/applicant-Amit for grant of bail, in Case Crime No.36 of 2022, under Sections 498-A, 304-B I.P.C. and Section 3/4 D.P. Act, Police Station Auras, District Unnao, during trial.

Learned counsel for the accused-applicant submits that the applicant is the brother-in-law (dewar) of the deceased. He has been falsely implicated in this case and he has not committed any offence as claimed by the prosecution.

Learned counsel for the applicant further submits that as per the first information report lodged by the brother of the deceased on 25.03.2022 at Police Station Auras, District Unnao, it is alleged that the deceased was married to the brother of the applicant namely Suraj about 07 years before lodging of the first information report. However, the husband was not satisfied with the dowry and was demanding a 'vehicle' and was committing cruelty along with his family members in lieu of demand of dowry and on relevant date and time the deceased was done to death by her husband and other family members. The postmortem report of the deceased would reveal that a 'ligature mark' has been found around her neck of the deceased and as per the opinion of the doctor the cause of death was 'asphyxia' as a result of 'antemortem hanging'.

Learned counsel for the applicant further submits that the postmortem report of the deceased clearly suggests that she had committed suicide by hanging herself and the applicant since the marriage of his brother with the deceased was not having any concern with their affairs. While referring to the paper placed as Annexure-4, it is vehemently submitted that these documents would clearly reveal that the applicant was living separately from the deceased and his brother (husband of the deceased).

Learned counsel for the applicant further submits that the general allegation of demand of dowry and committing cruelty in lieu thereof has been levelled against all the accused persons named in the F.I.R. as well as in the statement of the prosecution witnesses and no overt act has been attributed to the instant applicant.

Learned counsel for the applicant further submits that since as per the Modi's Jurisprudence and as per the post-mortem report of the deceased, it is a case of hanging and not the strangulation or murder, and as general role has been assigned to all the accused persons.

Learned counsel for the applicant has relied upon the judgment of Hon'ble Apex Court in the case of Geeta Mehrotra Vs. State of U.P., (2012) 10 SCC 741 and has submitted that these facts have also been taken cognizance by the Apex Court whereby the Court stated that there are large number of false and frivolous cases lodged against the entire family members and submitted that there are general allegations against all the accused persons, therefore giving benefit of the judgment of Apex Court in the case of Geeta Mehrotra (supra) the applicant is liable to be released on bail.

Learned counsel for the applicant further pointed out that the similarly circumstanced and identically placed other co-accused, namely, Rambeti (mother-in-law) and Ram Das (father-in-law) have already been granted bail by co-ordinate Benches of this Court vide its order dated 07.07.2022 and 11.07.2022 passed in Criminal Misc. Bail Application No. 7308 of 2022 and Criminal Misc. Bail Application No. 7522 of 2022, and the case of the applicant is not on worse footing than that of the co-accused who have already granted bail by this Court, therefore, the bail application of the applicant may also be considered and he should also be released on bail on principles of parity.

Several other submissions in order to demonstrate the falsity of the allegations made against the applicant have also been placed forth before the Court. The circumstances which, according to the counsel, led to the false implication of the accused have also been touched upon at length. It has been assured on behalf of the applicant that he is ready to cooperate with the process of law and shall faithfully make himself available before the court whenever required and is also ready to accept all the conditions which the Court may deem fit to impose upon him. It has also been pointed out that the accused is not having any criminal history, which has been explained in para 15 of the affidavit filed in support of the bail application and the applicant is in jail since 06.05.2022 and has by now done a substantial period of incarceration, therefore, the bail application of the applicant may also be considered by this Court sympathetically and he should also be released on bail.

Learned A.G.A. opposed the prayer for bail, but did not dispute this fact that the similarly circumstanced and identically placed the other co-accused, namely Rambeti (mother-in-law) and Ram Das (father-in-law) have already been granted bail by co-ordinate Benches of this Court.

After perusing the record in the light of the submissions made at the bar and after taking an overall view of all the facts and circumstances of this case, the nature of evidence, the period of detention already undergone, the unlikelihood of early conclusion of trial and also in the absence of any convincing material to indicate the possibility of tampering with the evidence and considering the fact that the deceased was married to the brother of the applicant about 07 years from before lodging of the first information report and she appears to have committed suicide by hanging herself, which is evident by the postmortem report as well as in the inquest. General allegation of demand of dowry and committing cruelty in lieu thereof has been levelled against all the accused persons named in the F.I.R. as well as in the statement of the prosecution witnesses and no overt act has been attributed to the instant applicant and also that he was living separately from the deceased and his brother since their marriage and similarly circumstances and identically placed co-accused of the crime namely Smt.Rambeti and Ramdas have been released on bail by co-ordinate Benches this Court and further considering that as per the Modi's Jurisprudence and as per the post-mortem report of the deceased, it is a case of hanging and not the strangulation or murder and further considering the larger mandate of the Article 21 of the Constitution of India and the law laid down by the Hon'ble Apex Court in the case of Dataram Singh vs. State of UP and another, reported in (2018) 3 SCC 22 and Geeta Mehrotra (supra) this Court is of the view that the applicant may be enlarged on bail.

The prayer for bail is granted. The application is allowed.

Let the applicant- Amit involved in Case Crime No.36 of 2022, under Sections 498-A, 304-B I.P.C. and Section 3/4 D.P. Act, Police Station Auras, District Unnao be released on bail on his executing a personal bond and two sureties each in the like amount to the satisfaction of the court concerned on the following conditions :-

(1) The applicant will not make any attempt to tamper with the prosecution evidence in any manner whatsoever.

(2) The applicant will personally appear on each and every date fixed in the court below and his personal presence shall not be exempted unless the court itself deems it fit to do so in the interest of justice.

(3) The applicant shall cooperate in the trial sincerely without seeking any adjournment.

(4) The applicant shall not indulge in any criminal activity or commission of any crime after being released on bail.

(5) In case, the applicant misuses the liberty of bail during trial, in order to secure his presence, proclamation under section 82 Cr.P.C. is issued and the applicant fails to appear before the court on the date fixed in such proclamation, then, the trial court shall initiate proceedings against him, in accordance with law, under Section 174-A of the Indian Penal Code.

(6) The applicant shall remain present, before the trial court on the dates fixed for (i) opening of the case, (ii) framing of charge and (iii) recording of statement under Section 313 Cr.P.C. If in the opinion of the trial court absence of the applicant is deliberate or without sufficient cause, then it shall be open for the trial court to treat such default as abuse of liberty of bail and proceed against him in accordance with law.

(7) The party shall file computer generated copy of such order downloaded from the official website of High Court Allahabad or certified copy issued from the Registry of the High Court, Allahabad.

(8) The concerned Court/Authority/Official shall verify the authenticity of such computerized copy of the order from the official website of High Court Allahabad and shall make a declaration of such verification in writing.

It may be observed that in the event of any breach of the aforesaid conditions, the court below shall be at liberty to proceed for the cancellation of applicant's bail.

It is clarified that the observations, if any, made in this order are strictly confined to the disposal of the bail application and must not be construed to have any reflection on the ultimate merits of the case.

Order Date :- 16.8.2022

Arvind