Delhi High Court
Siddhant Kumar vs State (Govt. Of Nct Of Delhi) on 7 September, 2021
* IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
+ BAIL APPLN. 2898/2021
Date of decision: 7th September, 2021
IN THE MATTER OF:
SIDDHANT KUMAR ..... Petitioner
Through Mr. Inderpal Khokhar, Advocate
versus
STATE (GOVT. OF NCT OF DELHI) ..... Respondent
Through Ms. Kusum Dhalla, APP for State
with Insp. Fateh Singh, PS Fatehpur
Beri
CORAM:
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SUBRAMONIUM PRASAD
SUBRAMONIUM PRASAD, J.
1. This is an application under Section 439 CrPC for grant of bail in FIR
No.316/2020 dated 18.08.2020 registered at Police Station Fatehpur Beri for
offences under Section 304B and 498A IPC.
2. Material on record reveals that on 13.08.2020, a telephone call was
received by ASI Rajkumar that the sister of the informant had committed
suicide by hanging herself with a scarf. The information was received vide
GD No.59A and the Police reached the spot.
3. The petitioner herein is the husband of the deceased/Mala. It is stated
that the deceased was residing at H.No.First Floor, Harijan Basti, Aya
Nagar, New Delhi for the past four months and has committed suicide by
hanging herself with the scarf. The body of the deceased/Mala was taken to
AIIMS Hospital and vide MLC No.5869/2020, she was declared brought
dead.
4. The statements of the mother and sister of the deceased/Mala were
recorded. She states that marriage of the deceased was performed as per her
wishes in April, 2019. It is stated by the elder sister of the deceased that she
received a telephone call from her younger sister Pooja that Mala/deceased
had committed suicide. She has stated that when she reached the spot, the
body was being taken for post-mortem. She has also stated that husband of
the deceased used to harass and beat the deceased for money.
5. It is stated that the deceased had rented a shop in Aya Nagar and after
about a month, the petitioner had come to take her back and they both started
living in a rented accommodation near the shop.
6. It is stated that the petitioner and the deceased used to quarrel daily
and the petitioner had once taken out a knife to frighten her and beat her. It
is stated by the elder sister of the deceased that she committed suicide
because of the family members of the petitioner.
7. It is stated that the petitioner used to demand money from the
deceased and used to harass her. It is also stated that the petitioner never
gave any money to the deceased for household expenses, would quarrel with
her regularly, and that she was also harassed by his family members. It is
stated that the deceased committed suicide because of the harassment meted
out to her.
8. Charge sheet has been filed and all the other co-accused barring the
petitioner have been granted anticipatory bail.
9. The petitioner has been in custody since 15.08.2020. Charge sheet has
been filed and the issue as to whether the deceased was maltreated on
account of dowry is a matter of trial. If convicted, the petitioner would be
sentenced to imprisonment for a minimum of seven years which may extend
to life.
10. The Supreme Court has laid down the parameters for grant of bail in
several cases as follows:
i. Whether there is any prima facie or reasonable ground to believe that
the accused had committed the offence;
ii. Nature and gravity of the accusation and the severity of the
punishment in the event of conviction;
iii. Danger of the accuse absconding or fleeting, if released on bail;
iv. Character, behaviour means, position and standing of the accused;
v. Likelihood of the offence being repeated, reasonable apprehension of
the witnesses being influenced and danger, of course, of justice being
thwarted by grant of bail.
Refer to Prashant Kumar Sarkar v. Ashis Chatterjeee, (2010) 14 SCC 496.
11. The petitioner has roots in society and is not likely to abscond. The
likelihood of his influencing the witnesses is remote as the complainants are
pursuing the case and there is very little chance of the petitioner repeating
the offence again. Considering the fact that charge sheet has been filed and
the trial will take a long time, this Court is inclined to grant bail to the
petitioner on the following conditions:-
i. The petitioner is directed to furnish a personal bond in the sum of
Rs.50,000/- with one surety in the like amount to the satisfaction of the
Trial Court.
ii. Memo of parties shows that the petitioner is the resident of H.No.512,
Ashok Vihar, Kanshipur, Yamuna Nagar, Haryana. He shall continue to
reside at the same address during the period he is on bail. Any change
in the above address shall be intimated to the Investigating Officer.
iii. The petitioner is directed to give all his mobile numbers to the
Investigating Officer and keep them operational at all times.
iv. The petitioner is directed not to tamper with the evidence or influence
the witnesses directly or indirectly.
v. Violation of any of the aforesaid conditions shall lead to cancellation
of bail.
12. The application is allowed and disposed of with the above
observations.
SUBRAMONIUM PRASAD, J
SEPTEMBER 07, 2021
hsk
