1992 (4) TMI 263

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.... the applicant and other members of the house on 4-11-1991 at 9 a.m. She was dragged inside the house where she was again beaten and was locked in a room. Smt. Kiran was crying for help which was heard by the neighbourers. The said Smt. Kiran subsequently died and the dead body was taken out and was surreptitiously burnt by the accused at the chakroad towards the west of their plots. The village chaukidar Sri Mihilal lodged the report on 15-11-1991 at 3.20 p.m. 4. The learned counsel for the applicant has argued that no specific role has been attributed to the accused applicant and that she is an old lady of seventy years of age. It was further argued that the accused-applicant being a woman is entitled to get the benefit of the proviso ....

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....ttered but it has to be exercised judicially. The overriding considerations in granting bail which are common both in Sections 437(1) and 439(1), Cr.P.C. are the nature and gravity of the circumstances in which the offence has been committed, position and status of the accused with reference to the victim and the witnesses, likelihood of the accused fleeing from justice and tampering with witnesses etc. No list of exhaustive grounds can be set out. Facts differ from case to case. Bail is at the most a matter of procedural privilege and not an accrued right until it is granted. The law is the sentinel of rights of the Society and of the individual. The cause of public justice has to be zealously guarded as the rights of a criminal defendant.....

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....eluctant to come forward. No report was lodged by the accused applicant or members of her family nor any information of the death of the victim was sent to her parents or anyone else. 10. The learned counsel for the applicant has placed strong reliance on Gurcharan Singh v. Delhi Administration reported in and Bhagirathsingh Judeja v. State of Gujarat reported in 1984CriLJ160 . I have gone through these rulings but none of them helps the applicant on the facts of the present case. The former case relates to cancellation matter of bail in two appeals filed by special leave against the judgments and orders of the Delhi High Court cancelling the order of bail of four appellants passed by the Sessions Judge, Delhi in Sunder murder case. The ....

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....gh Court should only be satisfied as to whether there is a prima facie case but the exhaustive exploration of merits of the case has been deprecated by the Supreme Court. In the recent case of State of Maharashtra v. Anand Chintamani Digha reported in 1991CriLJ1945 the bail was granted by the trial Court on the basis of the statements of the witnesses recorded by the Investigating Officer treating them to be the evidence before the Court. The Hon'ble Supreme Court held that the learned Judge acted illegally in appreciating the statements of the witnesses and the material collected by the Investigating Officer at the investigating stage. The police investigation prima facie showed that mafia type of terror and fear psychosis was created ....

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....989CriLJ2317 ). Thus on the facts and the circumstances of the present case, the nature of the gravity of the offence and the relationship of the victim with the accused and its adverse impact on the prosecution witnesses and on the Society the accused applicant does not deserve to be bailed out. 13. As regards the benefit of proviso to Section 437(1), Cr.P.C., it was argued that she is an old lady of 70 years of age but this has been disputed by the learned A.G.A. who asserted that she is only 60 years of age and that she is not entitled to the benefit of proviso to Section 437(1), Cr.P.C. The provision of bail to woman, sick and old aged person is not mandatory and it is discretionary. (See Pramod Kumar v. Sudha Rani 1989 ACJ 1772). Co....