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Being a woman is not a criterion for granting bail, says Karnataka HC

The bench headed by Justice Mohammad Nawaz gave the order on Monday while looking into the petition of the accused, Dilli Rani.

IANS | Bengaluru | July 5, 2023 11:20 am

Being a woman is not a criterion for granting bail, says Karnataka HC

[Photo : IANS]

The Karnataka High Court in a major ruling has refused to grant bail to a woman alleged to have stabbed her husband to death, and said that being a woman cannot be considered to be a criterion for granting of bail.

The wife is accused of slitting the throat of her husband for questioning the illegal affair.

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The bench headed by Justice Mohammad Nawaz gave the order on Monday while looking into the petition of the accused, Dilli Rani.

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The bench put aside the argument of the counsel that considering the fact that the accused is a woman, she should be granted bail.

Rani has been in judicial custody since September 24, 2022. She had challenged the order of 63rd Additional Civil and Sessions Court which had rejected her bail plea.

The bench maintained that because she was injured in the incident, the accused Dilli Rani could not be considered as innocent. Her husband Shankar Reddy was killed at the residence where Dilli Rani and their two minor children lived. The statements of three witnesses confirms the illegal affair of the wife with the second accused in the case. Because Shankar Raddy was a roadblock to the illegal affair, he is being killed. The accused had injured herself after the incident and hidden her jewels to misguide the investigation.

The police have recovered ear rings, mangalya chain and night wear of the accused which has blood stains on it, the bench stated.

The minor boy had given a statement that after waking up, he saw his father in a pool of blood. There was a fight between accused Dilli Rani and deceased Shankar Reddy.

The crime is of serious nature and bail can’t be granted just because she is a woman, said the court.

Dilli Rani and husband R. Shankar Reddy were married with two kids. Dilli Rani had an affair. Shankar Reddy was working in Bengaluru and his family stayed in Andhra Pradesh. He had shifted his family to Bengaluru for the sake of his children’s education. The accused and her lover hatched a conspiracy to kill Shankar Reddy. On February 24, 2022, the accused slit the throat of Shankar Reddy while he was asleep and later made an attempt to project it as a murder for gain.

The Yeshwanthpur police, which registered a case of murder on strangers, cracked the case and arrested Dilli Rani and her lover.

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The Kerala High Court, on Thursday, granted bail to M K Nasar, one of the individuals convicted by the special NIA court last year in the case of chopping the hands of Professor T J Joseph in 2010. A division bench comprising Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan and Justice P V Balakrishnan suspended Nasar’s sentence and granted conditional bail to him after considering his appeal against the NIA court’s conviction in the case Considering the prolonged detention and citing the potential for trial delays, the court suspended Nasar’s sentence and granted conditional bail, taking into account that some co-accused with similar allegations had already been released after serving shorter terms. The court noted that he had already spent nine years in jail and that delays in resolving appeals could justify suspending a convict’s prison term. It also observed that other accused in the case had received lesser sentences and had already been released after serving their terms. “The applicant has been undergoing incarceration, at the pre-conviction and post-conviction phases, for over 9 years. Furthermore, the fact that the accused facing the same allegations were earlier imposed a lesser term of imprisonment and have been released after having undergone the sentence is a factor that cannot be ignored. Additionally, the appeals filed by the NIA against the findings of the learned Sessions Judge are being considered in separate appeals, which have not yet been taken up. “There is also the likelihood of delay, as the prime accused has surrendered, and the learned Sessions Judge may have to take up the trial and dispose of it in accordance with the law and some of the original records may be required for that purpose. In view of these facts and circumstances, we are of the considered opinion that the sentence imposed on the applicant can be suspended pending the consideration of the appeal.” The court said The court, however, imposed strict conditions for Nasar’s bail. He is not supposed to provide a bond of Rs 1 lakh with two sureties, refrain from leaving the country without the court’s permission, avoid interfering with the trial or witnesses, and not commit similar offences while on bail The gruesome incident dates back to July 4, 2010, when Joseph, a professor at Newman College, Thodupuzha, was returning from Sunday mass with his family, members of the now-banned Popular Front of India (PFI) attacked him, allegedly in retaliation for a question paper he set, which contained a passage that they claimed insulted Prophet Mohammed was derogatory. His right hand was chopped off in this attack. Nasar was accused of playing a critical role in the attack. Investigations revealed his involvement in recruiting gang members, assigning specific tasks, collecting funds, procuring communication devices, and maintaining communication links with key conspirators.

The Kerala High Court, on Thursday, granted bail to M K Nasar, one of the individuals convicted by the special NIA court last year in the case of chopping the hands of Professor T J Joseph in 2010.