The Madhya Pradesh High Court has reserved its orders in the regular bail plea moved by retired judge Giribala Singh, an accused in the dowry death case of her daughter-in-law Twisha Sharma.

The bench of Justice Ajay Kumar Nirankari reserved the order after hearing arguments from all parties.

FIR in the matter was initially registered under Sections 80(2) (dowry death), 85 (cruelty), and 3(5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS), along with Sections 3 and 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act. The probe as later handed over to CBI.

During the hearing, Singh's counsel accused the CBI of selectively relying on WhatsApp chats that supported its case instead of considering the conversations in their entirety. Counsel also relied on messages exchanged by the deceased, arguing that the allegations were directed against her husband, Samarth Singh.

Reading out the transcript of the deceased's last phone call to her father, Singh's counsel submitted that Twisha had described her husband as aggressive and violent and had urged her parents to come to her at the earliest. “This clearly exonerates my client; whatever is being said is being said against the husband,” counsel argued.

Opposing the bail plea, Additional Solicitor General Sunil Jain, appearing for the CBI, disputed the contention that Singh was merely a spectator and had no role in the suicide. He alleged that she had instigated the events leading to the incident, adding that there was sufficient material on record to support the allegation.

Referring to the material collected during the investigation, Jain also alleged that Singh had conducted a parallel investigation and described her as an influential person.

The ASG further relied on a report concerning the deceased's forensic psychological assessment and behavioural analysis, which indicated that she had been experiencing mental cruelty, hopelessness and a lack of support.

Senior Advocate Siddharth Aggarwal, appearing for the objector, Twisha's father, opposed the bail plea, arguing that Singh could influence the trial or tamper with evidence and witnesses.

“Nobody can predict what conduct a person would exhibit. But your past conduct is a reflection of what can be expected of you,” he submitted.

Aggarwal also criticised what he described as attempts to malign the deceased's character, referring to questions allegedly asked by Singh about Twisha's chastity.

“Victim character assassination has become usual and normal for us,” he remarked, adding, “The abuses that this girl had to hear are being read out in court today as if they were normal.”

In rejoinder, Singh's counsel argued that there was no evidence to support the allegation that she had influenced the investigation.

“I am a person who has held a high status as a District Judge, but to say I have influenced the investigation, there is not an iota of evidence,” counsel submitted.

After hearing the submissions, the High Court reserved its orders.

Singh was earlier granted anticipatory bail by a Bhopal trial court on May 15. The State and Twisha's parents challenged the order before the High Court, which quashed her anticipatory bail on May 27.