SANTOSH GUPTA Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By this petition the petitioner seeks regular bail in case FIR No.765/2016 under Section 498A/304B/34/302 IPC registered at PS Keshav Puram.

(2.) Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the two Whatsapp messages on the basis of which it is claimed that the petitioner was harassing the daughter-in-law/ the deceased do not implicate the petitioner by way of dowry harassment or any other mental cruelty. The deceased was in the first trimester of her pregnancy and the advise by the mother-in-law not to squat for a long time cannot be said to be unwarranted for the reason the deceased was weighing 45 Kgs, had low B.P. and was not in good health with regular follow-ups. Merely because the mother-in-law declined to accede to the request by the deceased to go to her parent's house cannot be said to be a cruelty or harassment in relation to demand of dowry. The deceased died due to Aluminium Phosphide poisoning which cannot be given forcefully and would at best be a case of suicide. He further states that after the deceased consumed Aluminium Phosphide, it was the petitioner and her son who took her to the hospital and on reaching the hospital besides collecting Gastric Lavage of the deceased she was also put on ventilator including oxygen, and the MLC of the petitioner reveals that on reaching the hospital she was drowsy and irritating which would have caused the injuries while treatment was going as the first sheet of the treatment shows that there was no injury marks on the deceased. He further states that since the chargesheet has already been filed and the deceased is suffering from number of ailments, she be released on bail.

(3.) Learned APP for the State on the other hand contends that initially FIR was registered for offence punishable under Section 498A/304B IPC, however on the subsequent opinion of the post-mortem doctor Section 302 IPC has also been added as the injuries on the face were opined to be by force. Learned APP for the State further states that the main allegation of harassment even as per the last Whatsapp are against the petitioner. Hence no bail be granted to the petitioner.