V.A. Shivakumar vs The State of Karnataka

H.S. Kempanna

The petitioner who is arrayed as accused No. 1 in Cr. No. 479/2011 of Vijayanagara Police Station, Bangalore, registered for the offences punishable under Sections 498(A) and 306 of IPC, has sought for releasing him on bail.

Vijayanagara Police, Bangalore, on 10.10.2011, on the complaint of one Muralidhar, who is the brother of the deceased Mamatha have registered the above case against this petitioner and two others who are his younger brother and father.

It is alleged that the deceased Mamatha had been given in marriage to this petitioner on 27.11.2009 and after the marriage the deceased was leading her marital life in the house of the accused situated at Vijayanagara, Bangalore. It is further alleged that after some time this petitioner along with his brother, father and mother, who has expired now were subjecting her to cruelty and harassment. The deceased being unbearable of cruelty and harassment meted out to her, on 10.10.2011, at about 10 p.m. committed suicide by hanging in the house of this petitioner and therefore, the accused have committed the aforementioned offence.

Sri. Gururaj Joshi, learned counsel appearing for the petitioner submits that even taking the entire allegations in the complaint, it does not disclose what is the type of harassment that was meted out to the deceased by this petitioner. He further submits that the other accused namely A2 and A3 who are the brother and father of the petitioner have already been granted bail in Cr.Misc.No.5117/2011 and Cr.Mis.No. 5215/2011. The petitioner is in custody since 10.10.2011. Having regard to the material on record and taking into account that the other two accused have been released on bail, the petitioner also be granted the relief sought for by him.

Per contra learned High Court Government Pleader vehemently opposed grant of bail to the petitioner.

The material on record reveals that the deceased has committed suicide in the house of this petitioner on 5.0.10.2011 at 10 p.m. and that is not in dispute. The complaint filed by the brother of the deceased does not disclose what is the nature of cruelty that was meted out to the deceased by the accused in order to drive her to commit suicide. In the background of this, taking into consideration that the other two accused in this very case have already been granted bail and the offences alleged are not exclusively punishable with extreme penalty, I do not find any justification to decline the request of this petitioner also.

In the result for the foregoing reasons, I proceed to pass the following order:

ORDER

i) Criminal Petition is allowed:

ii) The petitioner is ordered to be released on bail on his executing a personal bond in a sum of Rs. 30,000/- with one surety for the like sum to the satisfaction of the Committal Magistrate, subject to the following conditions:

a) He shall not tamper with the prosecution witnesses.

b) He shall attend to the Committal Court on all the dates of hearing.