Allahabad High Court
Rohit Gupta vs State Of U.P. on 15 October, 2025
Author: Krishan Pahal
Bench: Krishan Pahal
HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD
Neutral Citation No. - 2025:AHC:185229
gtHIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD
CRIMINAL MISC. BAIL APPLICATION No. - 30859 of 2025
Rohit Gupta
.....Applicant(s)
Versus
State of U.P.
.....Opposite Party(s)
Counsel for Applicant(s)
:
Krishna Datta Tiwari, Utkarsh Tiwari
Counsel for Opposite Party(s)
:
G.A., Manish Gupta
Court No. - 67
HON'BLE KRISHAN PAHAL, J.
1. List has been revised.
2. Heard Sri Utkarsh Tiwari and Sri Krishna Datta Tiwari, learned counsels for applicant, Sri Prateek Kumar, Advocate holding brief of Sri Manish Gupta, learned counsel for the informant, Sri Sunil Kumar, learned A.G.A. for the State and perused the material placed on record.
3. The present bail application has been filed by the applicant in Case Crime No.318 of 2024, under Sections 80(2), 85, 103(2), 238 B.N.S. (Old Sections 302, 304-B, 498-A, 201 I.P.C.) and Section 3/4 D.P. Act, Police Station Tamkuhiraj, District Kushi Nagar with the prayer to enlarge him on bail.
4. As per prosecution story, the marriage of the applicant was solemnized with the deceased person as per Hindu Rites on 6.3.2024. The applicant and other family members are stated to have subjected the deceased to cruelty for demand of Rs.5 lakh, LG AC and TV as dowry, thereby led her to death on 22.10.2024 before 05:00 p.m.
5. Learned counsel for the applicant has stated that the applicant has been falsely implicated in the present case. The applicant is the husband of the deceased person and he has nothing to do with the said offence. It is an accidental case, which is but evident from the inquest report, whereby it is mentioned by the Panch witnesses to the inquest proceedings that cause of death was the fire caught in the gas cylinder of the kitchen.
6. Learned counsel for the applicant has further stated that the duration of death as observed by the doctor conducting autopsy of the deceased person has been found to be one to one and a half days, which does not match with the time of occurrence. Learned counsel has also placed much reliance on the Textbook of Modi's Medical Jurisprudence and Toxicology, whereby rigor mortis depends on several conditions, which are as follows:-
Conditions Simulating Rigor Mortis
The conditions which simulate rigor mortis are:
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heat stiffening;
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cold stiffening; and
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cadaveric spasm or instantaneous rigor.
Heat Stiffening.?Heat stiffening is seen as the hardening and stiffening of the muscles in a body exposed to intense heat, above 50C. This is due to the coagulation of muscle proteins. It persists until putrefaction sets in.
Heat stiffening is commonly observed in the body of a person who has met his death from burning or from sudden immersion in a boiling fluid, or in a body which has been burnt soon after death or due to high voltage electric shocks from touching a high tension cable. The body assumes an attitude, called "pugilistic attitude" with the lower limbs and arms charred and flexed and the hands clenched. This results from shortening of muscle fibres due to heat.
Cold Stiffening.?The stiffening of the muscles occurs in a body from solidification of its fat when it is exposed to a freezing temperature. In infants, the stiff skin folding round the neck due to exposure to cold may simulate a ligature mark of strangulation, but they are not associated with any evidence of injury such as abrasion or petechiae. On forcibly flexing the joints, the frozen synovial fluid exhibits crackling of ice. If the body is moved to a warmer atmosphere, the stiffening rapidly disappears and normal rigor mortis develops, but it lasts only for a short time.
Cadaveric Spasm or Instantaneous Rigor.?Cadaveric spasm is a phenomenon in which the muscles that have been in a state of contraction during life become stiff and rigid immediately after death, without passing into an initial stage of relaxation; hence the attitude of the body adopted at the time of death is maintained for several hours till rigor mortis develops, generally it is restricted to a single group of muscles. This occurs in cases where there have been great muscular exertion and mental excitement before sudden death, as observed among soldiers killed on a battlefield. It is also found in sudden asphyxial deaths, and in deaths from irritation of the medulla. It is quite different from cadaveric rigidity or rigor mortis. In the case of cadaveric spasm, a weapon held in the hand before death is firmly grasped, and can only be removed with difficulty, whereas, in cadaveric rigidity the weapons placed in the hand before rigor mortis has set in is not grasped, but drops down from the hand on the slightest touch. For practical purposes, it is not possible for a murderer to imitate this condition.
Medico-legally, the condition of cadaveric spasm is very important, in as much as the finding of a weapon, hairs, weeds, or pieces of clothing firmly grasped by the fingers of a dead body represent the last act of life and may lead to the detection of a case being suicidal or homicidal. It must, however, be remembered that a heavy weapon may drop down from the hand of a suicide, unless it becomes glued down by clotting of the effused blood.
(iii) Secondary Relaxation
With the disappearance of the rigor mortis, the muscles become soft and flaccid, but do not respond to a mechanical or electrical stimulus as in the first stage of relaxation. This depends on the development of putrefaction, for which temperature is an important factor.
15.2.2.2 Putrefaction or Decomposition and Autolysis
Putrefaction is a certain sign of death. It is a slow process and consists of softening and liquefaction brought about by the digestive action of enzymes, released after death from tissue cells. This autolysis can occur even in sterile conditions, such as seen in a macerated dead??...?
From 12 to 18 hours after death in summer, the green coloration spreads over the entire abdomen and the external genitals. Green patches also make their appearance successively on the chest, neck, face arms and legs. These patches gradually deepen in colour, and later become purple and dark blue. They are at first separate and distinct, but later coalesce together, and the whole skin of the body appears discoloured.
Soon after the discoloration of the skin has commenced, the superficial veins look very prominent like purplish red, brown or green streaks giving a marble-like appearance owing to the decomposed blood setting free the colouring matter of the red blood corpuscles, which stains the walls of the blood vessels and infiltrates into the tissues, which also appear coloured. The clotted blood becomes fluid; hence, the position of post-mortem staining is altered, and the fluid blood collects in the serous cavities especially in the pleurae and pericardium.
(ii) Development of Foul Smelling Gases.?Side by side with the appearance of a greenish patch on the abdomen, the body begins to emit a nauseating and unpleasant smell owing to the gradual development of the gases of decomposition, some of which are sulphurated hydrogen, marsh gas, carbon dioxide, ammonia and phosphorated hydrogen....."
From 12 to 18 hours after death in summer, these gases collect in the intestine, resulting in the swelling up of the abdomen. The sphincters relax, and the urine and faeces may escape.
From 18 to 36 or 48 hours after death, the gases collect in the tissues, cavities and hollow viscera under considerable pressure with the result that the features become bloated and distorted, the eyes are forced out of their sockets, the tongue is protruded between the teeth, and the lips become swollen and everted. A frothy, reddish fluid or mucus is forced from the mouth and nostrils. Ultimately, the features become obliterated and unrecognisable. The abdomen becomes greatly distended. Hence, on opening the cavity, the gas escapes with a loud explosive noise. Owing to the pressure of the gases, the stomach contents are forced into the mouth and larynx and are seen running out of the mouth and nostrils. The breasts of female bodies are greatly distended. The penis and scrotum become enormously swollen. The cellular tissues are inflated throughout, so that the whole body appears stouter and older than it actually is.
These gases form blisters under the skin containing a reddish coloured fluid, on the various parts of the body. When these burst, the cuticle being softened peels off easily. These are characterised by the absence of vital reaction. Bruises and abrasions may become unrecognisable when the cuticle is denuded. Wounds, whether caused before or after death, begin to bleed once more owing to the pressure of the gas within the heart and blood vessels. Wounds also become so altered in appearance that it may be difficult to form an opinion as to whether they were caused before or after death, unless the presence of the clotted blood can be distinctly made out. At this stage, there is considerable difficulty in identification.
Flies, such as common houseflies and blowflies, are attracted to the body, and lay their eggs, especially in the open wounds and natural orifices. The eggs hatch into maggots or larvae within eight to 24 hours during hot weather. The maggots crawl into the interior of the body and help in destroying the soft tissues. Sometimes, maggots appear even before death, if a person has ulcers on him. The maggots become pupae in four or five days, developing through about four stages called instars. The pupae develop into adult flies in the course of three to five days. They are of some help in estimating the time of death; ability to identify the type and knowledge of their exact life history being essential. Specimens of maggots from the body should be taken for culture and preserved in formalin or absolute alcohol to compare and check the different stages of development. Ants can also cause post-mortem abrasions, which simulate antemortem abrasions.
From 48 to 72 hours, the rectum and uterus protrude. The gravid uterus may expel its contents, and prolapse. The hair becomes loose, and is easily pulled out. The nails are also loose, and are easily detached?..?
(a) Larynx and Trachea.?The decomposition of the larynx and the trachea coincides with appearance of the greenish colouration over the abdomen. Initially, the mucous membrane appears uniformly brownish-red without any vascular injection, but later becomes greenish and softened. Lastly, after some months, the cartilages separate from one another.
(b) Brain of the Infants.?Owing to the thinness of the skull bones and the presence of the fontanelles, the brain of infants very rapidly becomes soft and pulpy, and soon turns into a greyish fluid so that it flows out on removing the cranial bones.
(c) Stomach.?Owing to the presence of fermenting food, digestive ferments and bacteria, and a large amount of blood supply, the stomach, as a rule, putrefies much sooner after death. It putrefies usually from 24 to 36 hours in summer and from three to six days in winter, but it may sometimes begin to putrefy much earlier. As a consequence of putrefaction, dark-red, irregular patches are first seen on the posterior wall and then appear on the anterior wall. These patches may be mistaken for the effects of irritant poisoning, but can be readily distinguished as putrefactive changes involving the whole thickness of the stomach wall, occasionally leading to perforation, while the effects of irritant poisoning are observed usually in the mucous membrane only. Afterwards, blebs form on the inner surface of the walls, which become softened, colour changing from dark brown and ultimately into a dark, pultaceous mass.
(d) Intestines.?The putrefaction of these organs follows that of the stomach. The intestines are rapidly inflated with the formation of gases in the interior, and the mucous membranes undergo exactly the same changes as are observed in the stomach. Owing to the walls being softened, the intestines burst and discharge their contents.
(e) Spleen.?In some cases, the spleen decomposes earlier than the stomach and the intestines, especially if it is swollen and hyperaemic from an acute infectious disease or enlarged from chronic malaria. However, it may resist putrefaction longer if it happens to be firm and comparatively bloodless. Owing to putrefaction, the spleen becomes soft, pulpy, greenish-steel in colour, and it may be reduced to a diffluent mass within two to three days in summer.
(f) Omentum and Mesentery.?The omentum and the mesentery withstand putrefaction for a long time, if they are free from fat, but decompose sooner, if loaded with fat. In that case, they appear greyish-green and dry.
(g) Liver.?Owing to the effects of decomposition, the liver usually becomes softened and flabby in consistency during summer from 12 to 18 or 24 hours after death, and owing to the evolution of gases in its substance, it becomes studded with blisters from 24 to 36 hours and shows a honey-combed foamy appearance. Later, the usual greenish discoloration appears on the upper convex surface, and gradually extends to the whole organ, which ultimately becomes coal black. The liver putrefies earlier in a new-born than in adults. The gall bladder is recognisable for a long period, owing to its resisting action against putrefaction, but the bile pigments may diffuse early through the adjacent tissues. Time passed since death from degenerative changes in liver has been attempted to be correlated in a research published on examination of road traffic accident victims.
(h) Adult Brain.?The putrefaction of the adult brain initially begins at its base, and then proceeds to the upper surface. It is hastened if any injury to the brain or skull is present. The brain becomes soft and pulpy within 24 to 48 hours in summer, and becomes a liquid mass from three to four days.
(i) Heart?The heart, because of the muscular tissues, putrefies much later than the stomach, the intestines and the liver. The organs first become soft and flabby, and the cavity vary according to climatic conditions. In the post-mortem report, apart from stating that rigor mortis was confined to both upper and lower limbs, no other reason had been disclosed??..?
In Mangu Khan v State of Rajasthan, AIR 2013 SC 1743, the post-mortem report dated 11 July 1997 indicated that the body was examined at 12.00 noon on 11 July 1997 and certified that the death had occurred "within 24 hours prior to PM Examination". The cause of death appeared to be serious injuries caused on the head and skull resulting in wounds going deep into meninges, brain matter coming out through bones and scalp. In the case of the deceased Dandhad, the post-mortem report dated 11 July 1997 certified that his body was examined at 11.00 am and the death had occurred "within 24 hours prior to PM Examination". In both the cases, the post-mortem report indicated "rigor mortis present all over the body". Neither the post-mortem report suggested that the death had taken place exactly 24 hours before the post-mortem was conducted. All that the post-mortem reports said was that the death had occurred "within 24 hours prior to PM Examination". Undoubtedly, the post-mortem examination was carried out at 11 am/12 pm on 11 July 1997. In other words, the post-mortem reports suggested that the death might have occurred any time after 11 am/12 pm of 10 July 1997. The contention urged by reference to text books on forensic medicine to show the time within which rigor mortis develops all over the body also had no factual basis. It depends on various factors such as constitution of the deceased, season of the year, the temperature in the region and the conditions under which the body has been preserved. The record indicated that the body was taken from the mortuary.
In Baso Prasad v State of Bihar, AIR 2007 SC 1019, death was caused by gun-shot injury. It was held that the exact time of the death cannot be established scientifically and precisely only because of the presence of rigor mortis or in the absence of it."
7. Learned counsel for the applicant has also placed much reliance on the judgment of the Supreme Court passed in Ramanand Yadav vs. Prabhu Nath Jha and Ors., AIR 2004 SC 1053, whereby it is opined that the ocular evidence shall have precedence over medical evidence, as such, the applicant is entitled for bail.
8. There is no criminal history of the applicant. The applicant is in jail since 24.10.2024 and he is ready to cooperate with trial. In case, the applicant is released on bail, he will not misuse the liberty of bail.
9. Per contra, learned counsel for the informant and learned A.G.A. have vehemently opposed the bail application on the ground that there is a video on record which suggested that there is demand of dowry from the in-laws of the deceased person and the deceased had expired within the precincts of house of the applicant and not under normal circumstances, as such, the ingredients of Section 80(2) BNS stand fulfilled.
10. After hearing learned counsel for the parties and taking into consideration the fact that the deceased had expired within the precincts of house of the applicant and the time of offence may be known to the accused person only, I do not find it a fit case for grant of bail to the applicant.
11. The bail application is found devoid of merits and is, accordingly, rejected.
12. However, it is directed that the aforesaid case pending before the trial court be decided expeditiously in view of the principle as has been laid down in the recent judgments of the Supreme Court in the cases of Vinod Kumar vs. State of Punjab; 2015 (3) SCC 220 and Hussain and Another vs. Union of India; (2017) 5 SCC 702, if there is no legal impediment.
13. It is clarified that the observations made herein are limited to the facts brought in by the parties pertaining to the disposal of bail application and the said observations shall have no bearing on the merits of the case during trial.
(Krishan Pahal,J.)
October 15, 2025
Vikas Verma
