Supreme Court: In a challenge by the informant against order passed by Rajasthan High Court on 6-09-2023 allowing bail to a woman accused in a triple murder case, the Division Bench of Hrishikesh Roy and Prashant Kumar Mishra, JJ. refused to interfere with the High Court’s decision to grant bail in a non-bailable offence as per Section 437 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (‘CrPC’), since she was a woman.
The accused person, being a woman, was arrested on 5-02-2023 for offences under Sections 147, 148, 149, 302, 307 and 120B of Penal Code, 1860 (‘IPC’) and Section 3/25 of the Arms Act, 1959. Rajasthan High Court considered that “In terms of Section 437 of the CrPC bail can be granted in a non-bailable offence on three circumstances as depicted in the proviso, (i) being a person below 16 years of age, (ii) a woman and (iii) is sick or infirm.” and granted bail under Section 439 of CrPC.
The Court noted that the said woman was part of the group which gathered on the date of incident, but her specific role in the said incident was “somewhat varying amongst the witnesses”, and that no action with arms was attributed to her.
It further highlighted the High Court’s consideration that the said woman had been in jail for 7 months after being arrested on 5-02-2023, to grant bail for female accused, regardless of the fact that it was a triple murder case.
Weighing the basis for the bail being granted to the female accused, the Court refused to interfere with the impugned order and therefore dismissed the instant petition.
[Ramnivash v. State of Rajasthan, 2024 SCC OnLine SC 89, Order dated 25-01-2024]
Advocates who appeared in this case:
For Petitioners: Advocate on Record Namit Saxena
For Respondents: Advocate Rajesh Kumar, Advocate Mahendra Kumar, Advocate Alok Kumar Dwivedi, Advocate Satyaveer Sharma, Advocate G.D. Verman, Advocate Dilip Kumar, Advocate on Record Rajnish Kumar Jha, Advocate Anish Maheshwari, Advocate on Record Anand Shankar, Advocate Yunus Malik, Advocate Vijay Kumar Maurya, Advocate Amit Kumar, Advocate Debashis Mukherjee
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