Judgements

New Delhi :- JUDGEMENT OVERVIEW

COURT NAME :- SUPREME COURT OF INDIA ( Division Bench – Two Judge)

JUDGEMENT NAME :- KAMLA DEVI VERSUS STATE OF RAJASTHAN & ANR.Appeal Crl. 342 of 2022

JUDGEMENT DATE : Mar 11, 2022

RELATED SECTION :- INDIAN PENAL CODE
SECTION 302 ( Punishment For Murder )

IMPORTANT PARAGRAPH :-

NAGARATHNA J.

2. These appeals have been preferred by the appellant who is the wife of the deceased, Sohan Singh, challenging orders dated 9th September, 2019 and 17 th October, 2019, passed by the High Court of Rajasthan at Jodhpur, in S.B. Criminal Miscellaneous Bail Application Nos. 10473 of 2019 and 11546 of 2019 respectively, whereby bail has been granted to the two accused, namely, Kishor Singh @ Kishan Singh, who is the second respondent in Criminal Appeal No. 342 of 2022 and Kalu Singh who is the second respondent in Criminal Appeal No. 343 of 2022, in connection with FIR No.229 of 2019, registered at Police Station Bhim, District Rajsamand, Rajasthan. 2. The facts in a nutshell are that appellant is the wife of the deceased. She is stated to be the person who lodged a missing person report on 14th May, 2019 stating therein that the deceased, Sohan Singh, aged 48 years, had on 13th May 2019 left their residence to attend the marriage ceremony of one Sawai Singh and was expected to return by 2.00 a.m. the next morning. When the deceased did not return home, the appellant assumed that he may have continued to stay at Sawai Singh’s house. However, when she inquired the next morning, Sawai Singh informed her that the deceased had left the marriage ceremony the previous night itself. The appellant further stated in the missing person report that she had a suspicion that the respondents accused herein in connivance with their mother, Teji Devi, had in some manner caused harm to her husband.

3. That a First Information Report, being FIR No. 229 of 2019 dated 15th May, 2019 came to be lodged, at the instance of the son of the deceased, stating that the deceased was returning to his house after attending the marriage function of Sawai Singh, the nephew of the deceased. The deceased was last seen outside the house of the three accused, namely Kishore Singh alias Kishan Singh, Kalu Singh, who are the two respondents accused herein and Teji Devi who is the mother of the respondents accused. That three passersby had disclosed to the informant son of the deceased that they saw the accused persons quarrelling with the deceased on the night of his death. One Nath Singh had informed the complainant that he had seen the accused quarrelling with the deceased outside their house and subsequently dragging the deceased into their house, wherein he was assaulted and murdered. The dead body of the deceased was dragged by the accused and thrown into a well nearby.

4. Report of the postmortem examination conducted on 15th May, 2019 recorded that the deceased had died as a result of “cardiopulmonary arrest due asphyxia and venous congestion.” The report further stated that the deceased was drowned following his death and that the hyoid bone of the deceased appeared to be fractured. Final report as to cause of death was reserved, to be finalised based on the report of the forensic science laboratory.

5. A charge sheet was submitted by the police on 9th July, 2019, against the three accused persons, before the Court of the District Judge, Rajsamand, Rajasthan, for charges under Sections 302, 201 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (for short, the “IPC”). The charge sheet has recorded that on the night of the incident, the deceased had at about 2.00 a.m. knocked on the door of Teji Devi. She informed her sons, Kalu Singh and Kishan Singh, the respondents accused, of the same. The respondents accused who were on the roof of their house, jumped down and attacked the deceased with lathis, with an intention to murder him. After the deceased was killed, all three accused dragged the dead body of the deceased and threw it in a well nearby, together with the lathi used to cause his death. The matter was committed to the Court of the Additional Sessions Judge, Rajsamand, Rajasthan for trial. 6. The respondents accused were arrested on 23rd May, 2019, in connection with FIR No. 229 of 2019 and were sent to judicial custody. They remained in judicial custody for a period of nearly four months before they were granted bail by the High Court vide the impugned judgments.

7. The respondents accused preferred separate applications seeking bail, under Section 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (for short, the “CrPC”) before the Court of the Additional Sessions Judge, Rajsamand, Rajasthan. Bail application preferred by Kishan Singh, respondent accused in Criminal Appeal No. 342 of 2022 came to be rejected by an order dated 09th July, 2019, having regard to the gravity of the offences alleged and the prima facie evidence on record as regards the guilt of the accused. Subsequently, the bail application preferred by Kalu Singh, respondent accused in Criminal Appeal No. 343 of 2022 was also rejected by an order dated 05th September, 2019.

8. The respondents accused preferred separate bail applications before the High Court and by the impugned orders dated 9th September, 2019 and 17 th October, 2019, the High Court has enlarged them on bail in the case arising out of FIR No. 229 of 2019. Being aggrieved by the grant of bail to the respondents accused, the appellant wife of the deceased has preferred the instant appeals before this Court.

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