Allahabad High Court
Shabnam And Another vs State Of U.P. on 12 August, 2025
Author: Krishan Pahal
Bench: Krishan Pahal
HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD
?Neutral Citation No. - 2025:AHC:136141
Court No. - 65
Case :- CRIMINAL MISC. BAIL APPLICATION No. - 27756 of 2025
Applicant :- Shabnam And Another
Opposite Party :- State of U.P.
Counsel for Applicant :- Rajat Chaudhary,Subham Singh
Counsel for Opposite Party :- G.A.
Hon'ble Krishan Pahal,J.
1. List has been revised.
2. Heard Sri Subham Singh, learned counsel for the applicants, Sri Sunil Kumar, learned A.G.A. for the State and perused the material placed on record.
3.Applicants seek bail in Case Crime No.375 of 2024, under Sections 85, 80(2), 115(2), 123 B.N.S. and Sections 3/4 D.P. Act, Police Station Lalkurti, District Meerut, during the pendency of trial.
4. Learned counsel for the applicants has argued that applicant no.1 is the mother-in-law and applicant no.2 is the father-in-law of the deceased and have been falsely implicated in the present case. They have nothing to do with the said offence. There are general and omnibus allegations against all the accused persons including the applicants.
5. Learned counsel for the applicants has further argued that the cause of death was septicemia due to chronic illness, as such, the case of natural death has been converted to that of dowry death. The deceased has expired in her maternal home only, as such, it is a clear-cut case of false implication. There is no criminal history of the applicants. The applicants are languishing in jail since 08.07.2025 and they are ready to cooperate with trial. In case, the applicants are released on bail, they will not misuse the liberty of bail.
6. Learned A.G.A. has vehemently opposed the bail application.
7.The Supreme Court in the judgment ofKahkashan Kausar @ Sonam vs. The State of Bihar, (2022) 6 SCC 599has categorically opined that the Courts should be careful in proceeding against the distant relatives in crimes pertaining to matrimonial disputes and dowry deaths. The relatives of the husband should not be roped in on the basis of omnibus allegations unless specific instances of their involvement in the crime are made out.
8.The well-known principle of "Presumption of Innocence Unless Proven Guilty," gives rise to the concept of bail as a rule and imprisonment as an exception. A person's right to life and liberty, guaranteed by Article 21 of the Indian Constitution, cannot be taken away simply because the person is accused of committing an offence until the guilt is established beyond a reasonable doubt. Article 21 of the Indian Constitution states that no one's life or personal liberty may be taken away unless the procedure established by law is followed, and the procedure must be just and reasonable. The said principle has been reiterated by the Supreme Court inSatenderKumar Antil Vs. Central Bureau of Investigation and another, 2022 (10) SCC 51.
9. Learned A.G.A./State Law Officer could not bring forth any exceptional circumstances which would warrant denial of bail to the applicant.
10. It is a settled principle of law that the object of bail is to secure the attendance of the accused at the trial. No material particulars or circumstances suggestive of the applicant fleeing from justice or thwarting the course of justice or creating other troubles in the shape of repeating offences or intimidating witnesses and the like have been shown by learnedA.G.A./State Law Officer.
11. The said viewpoint was shared in Nagendra Nath Chakrabarthi Vs. King-Emperor,AIR 1924 Cal 476,whereby the High Court held that bail's purpose is to secure the accused's attendance, not to punish. Courts must consider accusation nature, evidence, likely sentence, and accused's character.
12. In Meerut Conspiracy Case, reported in AIR 1931 All 356 ? Emperor Vs. Hutchinson and AIR 1931 All 504 ? K. N. Joglekar Vs. Emperor, this Court held that High Court's bail power under S.498 CrPC is unfettered but must be exercised judicially. Bail is generally the rule; refusal is exception.
13. In Sanjay Chandra Vs. Central Bureau of Investigation, AIR 2012 SC 830 it was reiterated that object of grant of bail to an accused of an offence is neither punitive nor preventive in nature. The true object behind grant of bail is to secure appearance of accused during trial. Refusal of bail and detention of under trial prisoner in jail to an indefinite period violative of Article 21 of the Constitution. The court should keep in view the principle that grant of bail is the rule and committal to jail an exception. Seriousness of the offence is not to be treated as the only consideration in refusing bail.
14. Overcrowding in jails and inordinate delay in disposing of cases often result in undertrial prisoners, who are presumed innocent and incarcerated through no fault of their own, being deprived of their fundamental rights. The failure to ensure a speedy trial despite overcrowding and systemic inefficiencies violates the right to personal liberty under Article 21. Overcrowding further compounds the problem, as jails house far more inmates than their capacity, with the majority being undertrials which leads to the loss of identity and dignity of prisoners. The state and judiciary are constitutionally mandated to ensure that undertrial prisoners are not wrongfully confined for extended periods and that trials are conducted expeditiously to uphold justice and human dignity. These factors make it entirely justifiable to invoke Article 21 protections in such cases. (See: Inhuman Conditions in 1382 Prisons, In re, (2017) 10 SCC 658; State Of Rajasthan Vs. Balchand AIR 1977 SC 2447; and Ashim vs. National Investigation Agency (2022) 1 SCC 695).
15. Reiterating the aforesaid view, the Supreme Court in the case of Manish Sisodia Vs. Directorate of Enforcement, 2024 INSC 595, has again emphasized that the very well-settled principle of law that bail is not to be withheld as a punishment is not to be forgotten. It is high time that the Courts should recognize the principle that "bail is a rule and jail is an exception".
16. The Supreme Court in Jalaluddin Khan Vs. Union of India, (2024) 10 SCC 574, held that 'bail is the rule, jail is the exception' even in special statutes like the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. If the conditions in the special statute for the grant of bail are met, then bail should be granted.
17. Considering the facts and circumstances of the case, submissions made by learned counsel for the parties, the evidence on record, taking into consideration the fact that the applicants are the mother-in-law and father-in-law of the deceased and the deceased has expired in her maternal home only,and without expressing any opinion on the merits of the case, the Court is of the view that the applicants have made out a case for bail. The bail application is allowed.
18. Let the applicants-Shabnam andMomin, who is involved in aforementioned case crime be released on bail on furnishing a personal bond and two sureties each in the like amount to the satisfaction of the court concerned subject to following conditions. Further, before issuing the release order, the sureties be verified.
(i) The applicants shall not tamper with evidence during trial.
(ii) The applicants shall not pressurise/intimidate with the prosecution witnesses.
(iii) The applicants shall appear before the trial court on the date fixed.
19. In case of breach of any of the above conditions, it shall be a ground for cancellation of bail.
20. It is made clear that observations made in granting bail to the applicants shall not in any way affect the learned trial Judge in forming his independent opinion based on the testimony of the witnesses.
Order Date :- 12.8.2025
(Ravi Kant)
(Justice Krishan Pahal)
