FIRDOSE BEGUM Vs. STATE OF KARNATAKA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Petitioners being the accused persons in Cr.No.16/2020 registered by the Bharathinagar Police Station for offences p/u/s 498A, 324, 504, 506, 420, 34 of IPC have presented this petition under Section 438 of Cr.P.C. apprehending their arrest & detention.

(2.) The learned HCGP on request having accepted notice for the respondent-State oppose the petition contending that no prima facie case is made out by the petitioners for seeking advance bail and that grant of such a bail would hamper the investigation process; he also submits that all aspects of the matter having been considered by the learned judge of the Court below vide judgment dated 29.02.2020, this Court may not admit the petitioners to the anticipatory bail.

(3.) Having hard the learned counsel for the parties and having perused the petition papers, this Court grants relief to the petitioners as under and for the following reasons: a) the offences alleged against the petitioners have domestic character and that they are not punishable with death or life imprisonment; the possible arrest & detention of the petitioners cannot be ruled out by the stand taken by the learned HCGP in opposing the petition; b) the bail is rule and jail is an exception in the facts & circumstances of the case is invokable here too especially when no heinous offences are alleged against the petitioners who undertake to abide by all the terms & conditions that are going to be imposed by this Court; and c) there is some force in the submission of the learned counsel for the petitioners that the FIR has been filed with an inordinate delay of about one year; the arrest & detention of the petitioners in such circumstance is not desirable especially when they undertake to cooperate with the investigation.