TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2020 (12) TMI 1376
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....under Sections 498A, 304-B, 323, 506 and 313 of the Indian Penal Code ("IPC") and Sections 3/4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961. The husband of the deceased [A-1] is in custody. The applicants for anticipatory bail are the parents-in-law [A-2 and A-3] , brother-in-law [A-4] and sister-in-law [A-5] of the deceased. A Single Judge of the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad allowed the applications and granted them anticipatory bail. The father of the deceased is in appeal. 3 The marriage between the deceased (Deepti) and Sumit Agarwal took place on 3 November 2014. On 7 August 2020, the appellant lodged a complaint which was registered as a First Information Report ("FIR") under Section 154 of the CrPC. The FIR, inter alia, records that Deepti was a doctor and the appellant spent an amount in excess of Rs.1.50 crores for conducting the marriage. It is alleged that even thereafter, Sumit, his parents, brother-in-law and sister-in-law misbehaved with the deceased on account of dowry. The deceased, it is alleged, was pressurized to bring money. The FIR alleges that the appellant had paid money on several occasions by cheque to the in-laws of the deceased. On account of the demand....
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..../242 of 2020] . By an order dated 21 August 2020, the Sessions Judge, Agra declined anticipatory bail. After adverting to the submission of the accused that a suicide note which was allegedly left behind by the deceased did not contain any allegation of harassment for dowry and the deceased was a partner and investor in the Agra Medical and Cardiac Super Specialty Hospital set up by her father-in-law, the Sessions Judge observed: "On the other hand, the documents have been filed on behalf of the complainant side, in which it has been shown that the money was transferred to different transactions. The photocopy of the application dated 01.10.2017 submitted by the deceased to the SHO, Kosikalan, District Mathura, has also been filed, in which it is mentioned about beating up of the deceased by Dr Amit Agarwal, Tulika Agarwal and Anita Agarwal and pushing her down through the stairs with the intention of killing her, and it has been mentioned that she suffered considerable injuries in it. It has also been stated in it that all this has happened at the instance of her father-inlaw S.C. Agarwal, who has asked her to bring Rs. 20 lakhs from the family of her parents. In addition....
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....ury on the body of the deceased, clearly denotes the bonafide (sic) of applicants." 6 Notice was issued on the Special Leave Petitions on 27 October 2020. In pursuance of the order, the State of Uttar Pradesh has entered appearance and is represented by Shri Vimlesh Kumar Shukla, Senior Counsel and Mr Vishnu Shankar Jain as Counsel. The respondent-accused are represented by Mr Sidharth Luthra and Mr R Basant, Senior Counsel. Counter affidavits and written submissions have been filed. B Submissions of Counsel 7 Assailing the grant of anticipatory bail, Mr Shekhar Naphade, Senior Counsel representing the Appellant, submitted that: (i) Though specific allegations have been leveled in the FIR that the deceased has been killed, which indicates the commission of a cognizable offence, there has been no investigation by the police of whether the death was homicidal and she was murdered; (ii) The Sessions Judge, while denying anticipatory bail, made a specific reference to the transfer of moneys by the deceased into the account of her father-in-law. As a matter of fact, between 19 November 2015 and 15 December 2018, an amount of Rs.50.53 lacs was transferred by th....
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...., the recovery panchnama of the suicide note does not find mention. The suicide note is not in the handwriting of the deceased; (v) The FIR contains a specific allegation that on 3 August 2020 the informant had received a telephone call from the father-in-law of the deceased demanding money and that on the same day in the afternoon at 3:09 pm and 5:31 pm the deceased spoke to the informant and his wife and informed them that she had been assaulted about 18 or 19 days earlier and of the threat to her life. The appellant told his daughter that he was in Faridabad and would reach Agra on the same night but before he could do so the deceased had allegedly been killed. The FIR alleges that the inlaws of the deceased had taken away the entire money which was earned by her as a doctor; (vi) The applications for anticipatory bail filed by the respondent-accused were dismissed by the Sessions Judge on 21 August 2020. A non-bailable warrant was issued on 9 September 2020. In spite of the dismissal of the applications for anticipatory bail and the specific allegation that Deepti had been killed, only her spouse was taken in for custodial interrogation and the alleged murder ....
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....nd (iv) Several transfers of funds have been made to the deceased from the two hospitals, besides which amounts have been paid by the father-in-law to the deceased and her spouse for the purchase of property in their joint names. Details of these transactions have been furnished in the following terms: (a) Rs.27.25 lacs paid to the deceased by M/s Agra Medical and Cardiac Research Centre between 2015-16 and 2017-18; (b) Rs.61.79 lacs paid to the deceased by Sapphire Hospital (M/s Agra Medical and Cardiac Super Specialty LLP) between 2017-18 and 2019- 20; (c) Rs.66.73 lacs paid by the father-in-law to the deceased and her spouse on 9 September 2019 and 21 September 2019 for the purchase of property; and (d) Rs.15 lacs paid to the deceased from the account of the LLP for the purchase of two plots. (v) An amount of Rs.30.80 lacs is invested in the name of the deceased inter alia in the form of FDRs, bank balances, PPF and in an RD account. (vi) Three immovable properties valued at about Rs.1.4 crores are jointly owned by the deceased and her spouse; (vii) The alleged incident on 1 October 2017 is a fabrication sin....
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....account of dowry. 10 The State of Uttar Pradesh has filed a counter affidavit in these proceedings through Harish Chandra Tamta working in the Circle Office (Deputy Superintendent of Police), District Agra. The Counter Affidavit contains the following statements: "9. It is relevant to mention that High Court has not taken into consideration the bodily injury sustained by deceased Dipti in the year 2017 and the contents of FIR lodged by her with the police station. 10. It is relevant to mention that on 2.8.2020 Sumit Agarwal (husband) and Anita Agarwal (mother-in-law) of the deceased through mobile call made at 9.30 a.m demanded dowry and had asked that serious consequences will follow if money was not paid. 10. Dr. Dipti suffered two (sic) abortions due to the illtreatment given by her husband and in-laws. 11. There is no explanation for the injuries found on the body of deceased. 12. The medical report and the facts revealed that deceased has been killed. 13. It is the case of continuous demand of dowry, causing torture and victimization of the deceased and the deceased has herself stated in the FIR lodged in the year 2017 a....
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....; (vii) The deceased suffered two miscarriages and had adopted a girl child; (viii) There was continued harassment of the deceased and of the child whom she had adopted; (ix) About 18 or 19 days before the incident on 3 August 2020, the deceased had been assaulted by the accused persons on account of dowry and threatened with consequences if she informed her family; (x) There was a telephone call on 3 August 2020 by A-2 to the appellantcomplainant for demanding money and threatening him with consequences; (xi) The deceased made telephone calls at 3:09 PM and at 5:31 PM on 3 August 2020 to her parents when she revealed being assaulted in the recent past and of the threat to her life; (xii) By the time the appellant travelled from Faridabad to Agra he found that his daughter had been killed for non-fulfillment of the demand for dowry; (xiii) The appellant removed the deceased to Sarvodaya hospital at Faridabad for treatment where she died on 6 August 2020; (xiv) The FIR was lodged after the last rites were performed; (xv) The accused had taken possession of the moneys which were earned by the deceased; a....
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....lose proximity to the incident, on the same day that she died. The FIR contains specific allegations against the accused, commencing with the incident of October 2017. Whether such an incident, as reported by the deceased to the police on 1 October 2017 did take place, leading to her suffering injuries which were examined at the Government Hospital, is a matter for investigation. How the learned Single Judge could have concluded - in the face of specific allegations in the FIR and the reference by the Sessions Judge to money transactions - that the FIR prima facie has been "engineered to implicate the accused" defies reasonable explanation. Similar is the case with the finding that "there is no co-relation between the allegations leveled in the FIR." A reading of the FIR would reveal that the finding of the Single Judge that the allegations "are general without assigning a specific role to the accused" is contrary to the record. The Single Judge observed, from the income tax returns of the accused, that "it cannot be said that they are not of sufficient means". The Single Judge has erred in drawing this inference without a full investigation by the investigating arm of the state. M....
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....plication for the grant of anticipatory bail have been elucidated in the decision of this Court in Siddharam Satlingappa Mhetre vs. State of Maharashtra [(2011) 1 SCC 694] and several other decisions. The factors to be considered include: "112. [...] (i) the nature and gravity of the accusation and the exact role of the accused; (ii) the antecedents of the applicant including whether the accused has previously undergone imprisonment on a conviction by a court in respect of a cognizable offence; (iii) the possibility of the applicant fleeing from justice; (iv) the likelihood of the accused repeating similar or other offences; (v) whether the accusations have been made only with the object of injuring or humiliating the applicant by arresting them; (vi) the impact of the grant of anticipatory bail particularly in cases of magnitude affecting a large number of people; (vii) The court must carefully evaluate the entire material against the accused. The court must also clearly comprehend the exact role of the accused in the case. Cases in which the accused is implicated with the help of Sections 34 and 149 of the Pe....
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.... the Court indicate that: "92.1...The application seeking anticipatory bail should contain bare essential facts relating to the offence, and why the applicant reasonably apprehends arrest, as well as his side of the story. These are essential for the court which should consider his application, to evaluate the threat or apprehension, its gravity or seriousness and the appropriateness of any condition that may have to be imposed. 92.3...While considering an application (for grant of anticipatory bail) the court has to consider the nature of the offence, the role of the person, the likelihood of his influencing the course of investigation, or tampering with evidence (including intimidating witnesses), likelihood of fleeing justice (such as leaving the country), etc. 92.4. Courts ought to be generally guided by considerations such as the nature and gravity of the offences, the role attributed to the applicant, and the facts of the case, while considering whether to grant anticipatory bail, or refuse it. Whether to grant or not is a matter of discretion; equally whether and if so, what kind of special conditions are to be imposed (or not imposed) are dependen....
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....derlying the power to grant bail. Such orders are legally infirm and vulnerable leading to miscarriage of justice and absence of supervening circumstances such as the propensity of the accused to tamper with the evidence, to flee from justice, etc. would not deter the court from cancelling the bail. The High Court or the Sessions Court is bound to cancel such bail orders particularly when they are passed releasing the accused involved in heinous crimes because they ultimately result in weakening the prosecution case and have adverse impact on the society. Needless to say that though the powers of this Court are much wider, this Court is equally guided by the above principles in the matter of grant or cancellation of bail." (emphasis supplied) Recently, this Court in Myakala Dharmarajam vs. The State of Telangana [(2020) 2 SCC 743] reiterated the above principles and stated: "9. It is trite law that cancellation of bail can be done in cases where the order granting bail suffers from serious infirmities resulting in miscarriage of justice. If the court granting bail ignores relevant material indicating prima facie involvement of the Accused or takes into account irrele....
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.... the learned Chief Justice that in regard to anticipatory bail, if the proposed accusation appears to stem not from motives of furthering the ends of justice but from some ulterior motive, the object being to injure and humiliate the applicant by having him arrested, a direction for the release of the applicant on bail in the event of his arrest would generally be made. It was observed that "it cannot be laid down as an inexorable rule that anticipatory bail cannot be granted unless the proposed accusation appears to be actuated by mala fides; and, equally, that anticipatory bail must be granted if there is no fear that the applicant will abscond". Some of the relevant considerations which govern the discretion, noticed therein are "the nature and seriousness of the proposed charges, the context of the events likely to lead to the making of the charges, a reasonable possibility of the applicant's presence not being secured at the trial, a reasonable apprehension that witnesses will be tampered with and „the larger interests of the public or the State‟, are some of the considerations which the court has to keep in mind while deciding an application for anticipatory b....
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....r Counsel for the State of Uttar Pradesh informed the Court, the forensic science laboratory referred the matter back in the absence of adequate material to assess the genuineness of the suicide note and upon resubmission, a report is awaited. Within a couple of days of the death of Deepti, the alleged suicide note found its way into the newspapers in Agra. This is in fact a circumstance relied upon by the learned Counsel for the accused when they submit that despite the publicity given to the suicide note, the FIR does not impugn its authenticity. The sequence in this case appears to follow familiar patterns. Immediate publicity was given to the alleged suicide note. These examples are now becoming familiar. Selective disclosures to the media affect the rights of the accused in some cases and the rights of victims‟ families in others. The media does have a legitimate stake in fair reporting. But events such as what has happened in this case show how the selective divulging of information, including the disclosure of material which may eventually form a crucial part of the evidentiary record at the criminal trial, can be used to derail the administration of criminal justic....
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....stent line of precedent of this Court. They have not been fulfilled. An individual under investigation has a legitimate expectation of a fair process which accords with law. The displeasure of an accused person about the manner in which the investigation proceeds or an unsubstantiated allegation (as in the present case) of a conflict of interest against the police conducting the investigation must not derail the legitimate course of law and warrant the invocation of the extraordinary power of this Court to transfer an investigation to the CBI. Courts assume the extraordinary jurisdiction to transfer an investigation in exceptional situations to ensure that the sanctity of the administration of criminal justice is preserved. While no inflexible guidelines are laid down, the notion that such a transfer is an "extraordinary power" to be used "sparingly" and "in exceptional circumstances" comports with the idea that routine transfers would belie not just public confidence in the normal course of law but also render meaningless the extraordinary situations that warrant the exercise of the power to transfer the investigation. Having balanced and considered the material on record as well ....
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....ter submission of the charge-sheet in the following terms- "79. The precedential ordainment against absolute prohibition for assignment of investigation to any impartial agency like CBI, submission of the charge-sheet by the normal investigating agency in law notwithstanding, albeit in an exceptional fact situation warranting such initiative, in order to secure a fair, honest and complete investigation and to consolidate the confidence of the victim(s) and the public in general in the justice administering mechanism, is thus unquestionably absolute and hallowed by time. Such a measure, however, can by no means be a matter of course or routine but has to be essentially adopted in order to live up to and effectuate the salutary objective of guaranteeing an independent and upright mechanism of justice dispensation without fear or favour, by treating all alike..... 81. The judicially propounded propositions on the aspects of essentiality and justifiability for assignment of further investigation or reinvestigation to an independent investigating agency like CBI, whether or not the probe into a criminal offence by the local/State Police is pending or completed, irrespe....
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....record, which have been adverted to in the earlier part of the judgment, we are of the view that it is necessary to entrust a further investigation of the case to the CBI in exercise of the powers of this Court under Article 142 of the Constitution. The conduct of the investigating authorities from the stage of arriving at the scene of occurrence to the filing of the charge-sheet do not inspire confidence in the robustness of the process. A perusal of the charge-sheet evinces a perfunctory rendition of the investigating authorities‟ duty by a bare reference to the facts and the presumption under Section 304B of the IPC when the death occurs within seven years of the marriage. The stance taken by the Deputy Superintendent of Police in the Counter Affidavit, filed a few days after forwarding the charge-sheet, travels beyond the scope of the investigation recorded in the charge-sheet with respect to the veracity of the suicide note, medical examination of injuries and the past miscarriages of the deceased. Critical facts of the money trail between the deceased, her father (the informant), and the accused; and the call history of A2, the informant and the deceased are unexplored.....