Delhi High Court
Smt. Lal Mani vs State Of Delhi [Along With Bail ... on 9 March, 2005
Author: B D Ahmed
Bench: B D Ahmed
JUDGMENT
Badar Durrez Ahmed, J.
1. This order shall dispose of all three applications. One application is in respect of anticipatory bail moved by the brother-in-law of the deceased. The other two are bail applications of the mother-in-law and the husband of the deceased. The brother-in-law has been granted interim protection by this court whereas the mother-in-law and the husband have been in custody since 4.4.2004.
2. The learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that a suicide note was left by the deceased in her hand-writing. That suicide note had been sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory at Rohini, New Delhi and as per the report it has been verified that the note was in the hand-writing of the deceased. The learned counsel for the petitioner read the suicide note in Hindi as well as the English translation thereof to indicate that the petitioners had not been implicated by the deceased in any manner whatsoever. On the contrary, the contents of the note indicate that the deceased was suffering from headache and because of her health condition, she was committing suicide. It also indicates that her husband was very close to her and she wanted that the husband should not be troubled any further because of her ailment. The learned counsel for the petitioner further pointed out that upon a reading of the FIR itself there does not appear to be any demand for dowry and, therefore, the ingredients of Section 304-B of the Indian Penal Code are not made out. He further submitted that the deceased's father (Rajinder Kumar Baranwal) was examined as PW3 and in his examination also he has nowhere indicated that there was any demand for dowry. The learned counsel for the petitioner also submits that the father-in-law has already been released on bail by this court on 7.6.2004. He also indicated that another brother-in-law Jyoti alias Prakash was granted regular bail by the Sessions Court on 11.6.2004.
3. The learned counsel for the State submitted that it is a fact that the suicide note was found by the Forensic Science Laboratory to be in the hand-writing of the deceased. He, however, said that keeping in mind the gravity of the offence, the application for bail ought to be rejected. After considering the arguments of the learned counsel for the parties, and examining the other facts, it is clear that there is no allegation that the suicide note was not written voluntarily. Secondly, the suicide note is admittedly in the hand-writing of the deceased and a reading of the note clearly indicates that there is no question of any cruelty or demand for dowry in the hands of the husband or other in laws. On the contrary, the note indicates that the husband was very concerned about the welfare of the deceased. It also indicates that the deceased was taking her life because of her medical condition and her severe headache which, according to the learned counsel for the petitioner, was as a result of migraine. It is also clear that in the FIR there are no allegations with regard to the demand of any dowry and the statement of the deceased's father also does not indicate any such demand. In these circumstances, the accused Deepak Barnawal is directed to be released on bail, in the event of his arrest, on furnishing a personal bond in the sum of Rs.15,000/- with one surety of the like amount to the satisfaction of the Arresting Officer. Insofar as Lal Mani and Raj Kishore are concerned, (they are in custody since 4.4.2004) they are directed to be released on bail on furnishing personal bonds in the sum of Rs.15,000/- each with one surety each of the like amount to the satisfaction of the court concerned.
The applications stand disposed of.
dusty.
