Urmila Devi vs The State Of Bihar
2021 Latest Caselaw 2080 Patna

       IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
               CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.34646 of 2020
     Arising Out of PS. Case No.-33 Year-2020 Thana- KALYANPUR District- Samastipur
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Urmila Devi, Female, aged about 50 years, wife of Upendra Ram, resident of Village- Rampura, P.S.- Kalyanpur, District- Samastipur.

... ... Petitioner/s

Versus

The State of Bihar

... ... Opposite Party/s ====================================================== Appearance :

For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Bijay Bhushan Prasad, Advocate For the State : Mr. Jharkhandi Upadhyay, APP ====================================================== CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE AHSANUDDIN AMANULLAH ORAL JUDGMENT Date : 24-05-2021

The matter has been heard via video conferencing.

2. Heard Mr. Bijay Bhushan Prasad, learned counsel

for the petitioner and Mr. Jharkhandi Upadhyay, learned

Additional Public Prosecutor (hereinafter referred to as the

'APP') for the State.

3. The petitioner apprehends arrest in connection with

Kalyanpur PS Case No. 33 of 2020 dated 02.02.2020, instituted

under Sections 304-B/34 of the Indian Penal Code.

4. The petitioner is the mother-in-law of the deceased,

along with her husband and son, is alleged to have killed her

due to non fulfilment of demand of dowry.

5. Learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that

being the mother-in-law she has no role in the incident as the Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.34646 of 2020 dt.24-05-2021

deceased and her husband were living separately and it has

come that in the afternoon the couple had a fight and at night the

deceased had committed suicide by hanging. It was submitted

that such fact is corroborated by the inquest and post-mortem

reports, where only ligature mark has been found on the neck

without there being any other mark or injury on the rest of the

body to indicate that there was any force used, which obviously

would have resulted in some sort of a fight back from the

deceased leaving mark to show that there was some scuffle and

resistance from her part, but only a simple mark of ligature on

the neck, which, though, establishes that death was due to

strangulation, but at the same time indicates that it was a self-act

of suicide and not an act of crime by any other person(s),

including the petitioner. Learned counsel submitted that the

husband of the petitioner has been granted anticipatory bail by

order dated 03.05.2021 in Cr. Misc. No. 35014 of 2020 by a

coordinate Bench. Learned counsel submitted that besides

having no criminal antecedent, the husband of the deceased,

who is the son of the petitioner is in custody.

6. Learned APP submitted that the death occurred in

the matrimonial home and the petitioner being the mother-in-

law cannot be absolved of her responsibility as she is the head Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.34646 of 2020 dt.24-05-2021

of the house and further that there is ligature mark found on the

neck, which clearly shows that death was due to strangulation,

which cannot be said to be death due to natural causes. It was

submitted that the same has not been explained. It was

submitted that witnesses have stated about the petitioner, being

the mother-in-law, used to quarrel with the deceased and also

used to abuse her.

7. Having considered the facts and circumstances of

the case and submissions of learned counsel for the parties, in

the event of arrest or surrender before the Court below within

six weeks from today, the petitioner be released on bail upon

furnishing bail bonds of Rs. 25,000/- (twenty five thousand)

with two sureties of the like amount each to the satisfaction of

the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Samastipur, in Kalyanpur

PS Case No. 33 of 2020, subject to the conditions laid down in

Section 438(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 and

further (i) that one of the bailors shall be a close relative of the

petitioner, and (ii) that the petitioner shall cooperate with the

Court and the police/prosecution. Failure to cooperate shall lead

to cancellation of her bail bonds.

8. It shall also be open for the prosecution to bring

any violation of the foregoing conditions of bail by the Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.34646 of 2020 dt.24-05-2021

petitioner, to the notice of the Court concerned, which shall take

immediate action on the same after giving opportunity of

hearing to the petitioner.

9. The application stands disposed off in the

aforementioned terms.

(Ahsanuddin Amanullah, J)

J. Alam/-

AFR/NAFR U T