TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2021 (4) TMI 1382
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....t Information Report, FIR No. 0076 of 2019, was registered on 9 February 2019 at Police Station Friends Colony, District Etawah for offences Under Sections 498A and 304-B of the Indian Penal Code and Sections 3 and 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act 1861. The First Information Report was registered on the complaint of the Appellant, who is the brother of the deceased. The marriage between the deceased and the first Respondent was solemnized on 5 July 2018. It has been alleged in the FIR that at the time of the marriage, a cash amount of Rs. 15 lakhs, a motor vehicle and other household articles were provided in dowry. It has been alleged that the first Respondent and his parents were not satisfied with the amount of dowry and an amount of Rs. 5....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....y of Accused and without expressing any opinion on the merits of the case, the Court is of the view that the applicant has made out a case for bail. The bail application is allowed. 5. We have heard Mr. Vishal Yadav, learned Counsel appearing on behalf of the Appellant, Mr. Ravinder Singh, learned Senior Counsel for the first Respondent and Mr. Sanjay Jain, learned Counsel for the State of Uttar Pradesh have appeared in pursuance of the notice issued by this Court on 27 January 2021. 6. Mr. Vishal Yadav, learned Counsel appearing on behalf of the Appellant submits that (i) the High Court has adduced absolutely no reasons for the grant of bail; (ii) the submission before the High Court that the deceased was suffering from a mental illness ....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....ion filed before the High Court, in which it was denied that the mobile number from which the informant was alleged to have received the phone call demanding additional dowry was in any manner associated with the family or the near relatives of the Accused. On the other hand, it has been pointed out that in paragraph 7 of the counter affidavit before this Court, the specific case of the first Respondent is that on 8 February 2019, when he was away from home to attend a marriage of a close friend, he had received a call at 8.45 pm from the same mobile number which is referred to in the FIR to the effect that his spouse has committed suicide. Hence, it has been submitted that there has been a clear attempt to improve upon the case which was s....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....ption which arises Under Section 113-B of the Evidence Act, the High Court was clearly not justified in granting bail. 10. The order of the High Court granting bail contains absolutely no reasons at all. While it is true that at the time of considering an application for bail the High Court would not be required to launch into a detailed enquiry into the facts which have to be determined in the course of trial, equally an application of mind by the High Court to the rival submissions is necessary. The High Court has merely recorded the submissions and in the extract which we have reproduced earlier proceeded to grant bail without any evaluation of the rival submissions. In this context, it would be worthwhile to reproduce the principle whi....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....es not constitute the kind of reasoning which is expected of a judicial order. The High Court cannot be oblivious, in a case such as the present, of the seriousness of the alleged offence, where a woman has met an unnatural end within a year of marriage. The seriousness of the alleged offence has to be evaluated in the backdrop of the allegation that she was being harassed for dowry; and that a telephone call was received from the Accused in close-proximity to the time of death, making a demand. There are specific allegations of harassment against the Accused on the ground of dowry. An order without reasons is fundamentally contrary to the norms which guide the judicial process. The administration of criminal justice by the High Court canno....