Arundas vs State Of Kerala

Application for regular bail.

Petitioner is the accused in Crime No. 1993 of 2020 of Pooyapally Police Station registered for the offence punishable under Section 302 of Indian

Penal Code.

The petitioner has been in custody since 28.11.2020.

The prosecution allegation is as follows:

The petitioner married the deceased about 10 year back and they lived as husband and wife. While so, on 1.11.2020 the lady was admitted in a

hospital as she sustained very grievous injuries on her abdomen. Though she had undergone treatment in the intensive care unit for few days, she

succumbed to the injury on 5.11.2020. On investigation, it was revealed that the accused had kicked on her abdomen and caused very serious and

fatal internal injury and due to the impact of the said assault by him, she died on 5.11.2020 inspite of the treatment imparted to her as an inpatient in

Azeezia Medical College Hospital, Meeyannoor, Kollam.

The learned counsel for the petitioner has submitted that he is totally innocent of the allegations levelled against him. In fact she was kicked by a

goat and she sustained injury when she fell into a ditch in the said incident but the petitioner has absolutely no connection with the alleged incident and

he is undergoing unnecessary incarceration right from 28.11.2020.

The learned Public Prosecutor has produced the CD file for perusal. The CD file would reveal that the deceased had sustained injuries on

31.10.2020. The petitioner has taken her to a hospital by name 'Jaimatha Hospital' at Odanavattom on the next day, i.e. on 1.11.2020. Though the

hospital authorities were ready to provide treatment to her, the petitioner had taken her from there and thereafter took her to the Taluk Hospital,

Kottarakkara and further to another Hospital at Kottarakkara. Later, she was admitted in Azeezia Medical College Hospital, Meeyannoor and while

she was undergoing treatment in the said hospital, she succumbed to the injury at about 10.45 p.m. on 5.11.2020. The postmortem certificate which is

available in the CD file would reveal that the injury sustained by her was not because she fell on a ditch as she was kicked by a goat or something like

that but she had sustained injury due to kicking with foot or by punching with a clenched fist. So, the CD file would reveal that the injury sustained by

her was not as narrated by the learned counsel for the petitioner. It further reveals that she sustained injury in a kick on her abdomen by the petitioner,

her husband. Such being the prima facie finding by the investigating agency, at this stage, if bail is granted to this petitioner, there is every possibility to

tamper with the evidence. A detailed probe into the allegation is absolutely necessary in this case. Moreover, the materials so far gathered would

reveal that she had disclosed to her father, who visited her in the hospital while she was undergoing treatment as to how she sustained the fatal injury.

The father of the deceased has expressed his suspicion regarding the cause of death mainly on her disclosure statement to him and he had even stated

that his daughter died because of the cruel treatment and physical assault by her husband, the petitioner. From the CD file it is also revealed that most

of the witnesses to the prosecution are the relatives of the petitioner as well the deceased. So, there is a strong possibility of the petitioner interfering

with the investigation or winning over the prosecution witnesses which may result in miscarriage of justice. Considering the nature of the offences

alleged against this petitioner, I do not think that it is proper to release him on bail just considering the duration of judicial custody undergone by him.

The entire circumstances involved in this case have to be probed into in detail by the investigating agency to unearth the real facts involved in this

case.

Hence, I think that at this stage it is not proper to grant bail to this petitioner though he has been languishing in jail for more than two months.

Dismissed.