Reflects Disturbing Reality Of Society: Delhi High Court Dismisses Bail Application Of Mother-In-Law In Dowry Death Case
The Delhi High Court was considering an application seeking the grant of regular bail in a dowry death case.
Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma, Delhi High Court
While refusing to grant bail to the mother-in-law of a 19-year-old girl who allegedly committed suicide, the Delhi High Court has held that the case reflected a disturbing reality of society where, a young girl aged about 19 years was alleged to have been driven to commit suicide because her parents were unable to fulfil an unlawful demand of ₹3 lakh allegedly raised by her in-laws merely on account of her marriage into their family.
The High Court was considering an application seeking the grant of regular bail in a case registered under Sections 80(2),85, 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS).
The Single Bench of Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma held, “In the opinion of this Court, the present case reflects a disturbing reality of society where, even today, a young girl aged about 19 years is alleged to have been driven to commit suicide because her parents were unable to fulfil an unlawful demand of ₹3 lakhs allegedly raised by her in-laws, including the present applicant, merely on account of her marriage into their family. The seriousness of the allegations is further aggravated by the fact that the marriage was only about eight months old at the time of the incident and that the deceased was allegedly subjected to continuous harassment during this brief period of matrimonial life. Prima facie, the material on record indicates that such harassment had allegedly reached a stage where the deceased believed that the only escape from the conduct of her husband and in-laws was to take her own life. It is for addressing precisely such situations that provisions such as Sections 498-A and 304B of the IPC had been enacted by the legislature.”
Advocate Hitesh Aggarwal represented the Petitioner while Additional Public Prosecutor Naresh Kumar Chahar represented the Respondent.
Factual Background
The police received a phone call wherein the caller informed them that his daughter-in-law had committed suicide by hanging. Upon reaching the spot, the police officials found that the deceased had committed suicide by hanging and her husband as well as brother-in-law had taken down her body and placed it on the bed. The statement of the father of the deceased was thereafter recorded by the SDM concerned. In his statement, the complainant informed that the deceased was married to the co-accused and a sufficient amount had been spent on their marriage. However, according to the complainant, the husband and in-laws of the deceased had continued to demand further dowry and subjected the deceased to physical and mental harassment. It was also alleged that, the deceased had informed her brother about the harassment being caused to her. On the basis of these allegations, the FIR came to be registered.
During investigation, it was found that the husband of the deceased was a minor and he was apprehended on December 1, 2024. The accused Ayodhya Devi, i.e., the mother-in-law of the deceased, and the co-accused father-in-law were also arrested. The statements of witnesses were recorded under Section 180 of the BNSS.
Reasoning
The Bench took note of the fact that the complainant as well as the prosecution had relied upon the audio recording of a phone conversation between the deceased and her brother, who was also a witness in the present case, which was recorded shortly before the deceased had committed suicide. The conversation revealed that the deceased, while speaking to her brother, could be heard narrating how she had been brutally beaten by her husband, who was allegedly angry with her for using his father’s phone and for having seen certain messages exchanged with another girl.
The Bench also noticed that the deceased had committed suicide within a period of about eight months of marriage. The Bench found that, in the aforesaid audio conversation recorded only a few hours prior to the incident, the deceased had specifically expressed her humiliation and distress on account of her clothes having been torn and her father-in-law having seen her in that condition.
On a perusal of the facts of the case, the Bench noted that specific allegations regarding demand of dowry were made against the applicant and the same when considered alongside the audio recording and the statements of the parents and other witnesses, prima facie indicated that the deceased had repeatedly informed her family members that she was being harassed by the applicant along with the other co-accused persons on account of non-fulfilment of the demand of ₹3 lakhs. The statements further revealed that the deceased had allegedly been subjected to physical and mental harassment and she repeatedly expressed before her parents and aunt that the only way to escape the torture was to end her life.
Further considering that that the FSL report regarding the conclusive cause of death was still awaited, and the material witnesses were yet to be examined before the Trial Court, the Bench held that it would not be in the interest of justice to release the applicant on bail at this stage, particularly when there exists a possibility of interference with the prosecution evidence or influencing the witnesses. The Bench thus dismissed the bail application.
Cause Title: Ayodhya Devi Alias Jyoti v. State Govt. Of Nct of Delhi (Neutral Citation: 2026:DHC:4705)
Appearance
Petitioner: Advocates Hitesh Aggarwal, Veer Chand Kumar
Respondent: Additional Public Prosecutor Naresh Kumar Chahar, Advocates Mayank Mehandru, Charu Tandon, Raghav Tandon