Chhattisgarh High Court Refuses Bail To Husband Accused Of Driving Pregnant Wife To Suicide Over Dowry Demand

The Chhattisgarh High Court has refused to grant regular bail to a husband accused of continuously subjecting his wife to physical and mental cruelty on account of dowry demand, leading to her suicide. The Court observed that at the stage of considering a bail application, issues such as delay in registration of the FIR and alleged inconsistencies in the witnesses' statements are matters for trial and cannot be conclusively examined.Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha was hearing the first bail application filed under Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, by an applicant arrested for the offence punishable under Section 80(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. According to the prosecution, the marriage between the applicant and the deceased had taken place about three years prior to the incident, and a female child was born out of the wedlock. It was alleged that the applicant and his family members continuously subjected the deceased to physical and mental cruelty. It was further alleged that on the night preceding the incident, the applicant again quarrelled with and assaulted the deceased over the dowry demand, following which she committed suicide by hanging herself. The applicant contended that the FIR had been registered nearly four months after the incident, that no allegation of dowry demand had been made in the statements recorded during the merg enquiry, that no suicide note or dying declaration had been recovered and that the post-mortem report disclosed no external injuries. The State opposed the prayer, submitting that the deceased had committed suicide due to continuous physical and mental harassment. It was also pointed out that the deceased was carrying a pregnancy of about 18 to 20 weeks at the time of her death.Upon considering the rival submissions and the case diary, the Court found that the material collected during investigation, particularly the statements of the deceased's family members and independent witnesses, prima facie indicated that the deceased was continuously subjected to physical and mental cruelty on account of demand of a motorcycle as dowry. The Court also noted that reconciliation proceedings had earlier taken place between the parties, but the alleged harassment continued. The Court found it significant that the deceased was carrying a pregnancy of about 18 to 20 weeks and had committed suicide within a few years of marriage. It observed:“Although learned counsel for the applicant has pointed out the delay in registration of the FIR and the absence of allegations of dowry demand in the merg statements, these are matters to be examined during the course of trial and cannot be conclusively appreciated at the stage of consideration of bail.”Considering the seriousness of the allegations, the nature of the offence, the material collected during investigation and the fact that the death of a pregnant woman had allegedly occurred as a consequence of continuous matrimonial cruelty, the Court held that the applicant was not entitled to the benefit of regular bail and accordingly rejected the bail application.Case Title: Murlidhar Bagh v. State of Chhattisgarh [MCRC No. 6797 of 2026]Click Here To Read/Download Order

Chhattisgarh High Court Refuses Bail To Husband Accused Of Driving Pregnant Wife To Suicide Over Dowry Demand

Saksham Vaishya

This is a premium content
Available exclusively to
Our subscribers

INR 1099+GST

Tags

Saksham Vaishya

Chhattisgarh High Court Refuses Bail To Husband Accused Of Driving Pregnant Wife To Suicide Over Dowry Demand

Saksham Vaishya

This is a premium content Available exclusively to Our subscribers

INR 1099+GST

Tags

Saksham Vaishya

This is a premium content
Available exclusively to
Our subscribers