YADWINDER SINGH Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner seeks grant of anticipatory bail in respect of a case registered vide FIR No.6 dated 10.7.2016 at Police Station Women, SAS Nagar, Punjab under Sections 307, 406, 498-A, 420, 379, 506 and 120-B of Indian Penal Code.

(2.) The FIR in question was lodged at the instance of Ms. Navreet Kaur, wherein it has been alleged her marriage was solemnized with petitioner Yadwinder Singh on 24.2.2013 and that gold jewellery weighing about 80 tolas apart from furniture and house hold articles were given at the time of marriage. The jewellery and other articles were entrusted individually to the accused namely Yadwinder Singh (husband), Charanjit Kaur (mother-in-law), Atma Singh (father-in-law) and Rajwinder Singh (brother-in-law). It is further stated that additionally six gold rings were given to other relatives of the accused. It is alleged that shortly after the marriage, the accused started taunting her for having brought insufficient dowry and used to pressurize her to bring more dowry. In the FIR as many as 10 instances between March, 2013 to January, 2016 have been mentioned during which amounts bearing from Rs.25000- Rs.1,00,000/- were given to the accused including amounts given by way of bank transaction. The complainant alleged that the petitioner as well as his parents demanded another amount of Rs.20 lakhs and a luxury car to get her happily settled in her matrimonial home. The complainant has stated that on account of the ill-treatment and harassment she was not even invited on the occasion of engagement of her brother-inlaw Rajwinder Singh. The complainant has alleged that on 26.1.2016 and 31.1.2016 when she asked for her jewellery from her in-laws as she was to attend a wedding of her cousin, her in-laws refused to hand over the same. The complainant has alleged that her mother-in-law used to instigate the petitioner to get rid of the complainant as she could not even deliver a child and even used to give beatings to her.

(3.) It is further alleged that on 8.3.2016 her mother-in-law picked up a fight and started cursing her and to which even the complainant replied back and during the said period the petitioner made a video recording when the complainant was retaliating in aggression but did not record the part when her mother-in-law was aggressive and assaulting the complainant. It is alleged that her mother-in-law instigated the petitioner to eliminate the complainant and attempted to strangulate her with her 'dupatta' and due to which she sustained multiple injuries but was luckily saved when her grand father-in-law came there, who had returned after a walk and knocked at the door and on account of which the accused got scared. Taking advantage of the said situation, the complainant managed to escape and firstly went to Fortis Hospital from where she was asked to go to Government Hospital where she got herself medically examined i.e. at Government Hospital, Phase-VI, Mohali.