Patna High Court
Urmila Devi vs The State Of Bihar on 24 May, 2021
Equivalent citations: AIRONLINE 2021 PAT 429
Author: Ahsanuddin Amanullah
Bench: Ahsanuddin Amanullah
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
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Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Bijay Bhushan Prasad, Advocate
For the State : Mr. Jharkhandi Upadhyay, APP
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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 2/4 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 3/4 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 4/4 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