HC Asks Husband To Pay Wife Rs 10 Lakhs For Anticipatory Bail In Dowry Harassment Case; Supreme Court Sets Aside Condition As Unreasonable

The Supreme Court has recently set aside a decision of the Jharkhand High Court to impose a precondition for anticipatory bail that the accused would have to deposit a Demand Draft of Rs. 10 lakhs as ad interim victim compensation in favour of his wife. This appeal arose out of a dowry harassment case in which the complainant had instituted a criminal complaint against her husband before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, which was later converted into a first information report, for offences under Section 498A and other ancillary provisions of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 read with Sections 3 and 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961. By the impugned order, the High Court had exercised its inherent powers under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 and directed the appellant-husband to pay the complainant 'victim compensation' as an interim measure. The Division Bench, allowing the appeal preferred by the accused, held that there was "no reasonable justification" for the High Court to incorporate such a condition while granting the husband pre-arrest bail. The Bench, comprising Justices Ajay Rastogi and C.T. Ravikumar, held – "After we have heard counsel for the parties, we find no reasonable justification for the High Court to call upon the appellant to submit a demand draft of Rs.10 lakhs in availing the benefit of pre-arrest bail. Consequently, the appeal stands allowed and the order passed by the High Court directing the appellant to deposit a Demand Draft of Rs. 10 Lakhs is hereby set aside." Case Title Ravikant Srivastava @ Ravi Kant Shrivastava v. State of Jharkhand & Anr. [Criminal Appeal No. 1803/2022 arising out of SLP (Criminal) No. 1771/2022]Citation : 2022 LiveLaw (SC) 877 Headnotes Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Act 2 of 1974) – Section 482 – Inherent powers of High Court – Accused cannot be made to pay ad interim victim compensation by the High Court in the exercise of their inherent powers as a precondition to get anticipatory bail without reasonable justification – Held, there was no reasonable justification for the High Court to call upon the appellant to submit a demand draft of Rs. 10 lakhs in availing the benefit of pre-arrest bail – Appeal allowed.Click Here To Read/Download Order

HC Asks Husband To Pay Wife Rs 10 Lakhs For Anticipatory Bail In Dowry Harassment Case; Supreme Court Sets Aside Condition As Unreasonable

Awstika Das

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