Bail Granted To A Man Accused Of Killing His Lady Love Set Aside By SC

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• An appeal was filed in the supreme court against a bail granted by Kerela HC on 21st December 2020 in the State of Kerala v. Mahesh [Cr. A No. 343 of 2021]
• Kerela High Court had granted bail to a man who killed a lady doctor and absconded after the incident.
• The 2 judge bench of the apex court comprising of Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice Krishna Murari observed that 2 important aspects must be considered while granting bail – the seriousness of the case and whether the accused absconded after the incident.

BACKGROUND DETAILS

• The victim was a 30-year-old lady doctor who met the accused after divorce from her husband and thereby became close to the accused and they started living together from 2018 onwards.
• Later on, the victim got pregnant but the accused threatened her and had to undergo an abortion.
• With the financial assistance of her father the victim opened a multi-speciality dental clinic.
• The accused started misappropriating the money from the clinic and also started harassing the victim both mentally and physically.

FURTHER DETAILS

• Thus the victim started living in her own house after her relationship strained with the accused.
• The accused kept on threatening the victim which eventually led to a complaint being filed against the accused on 26th September 2020 by the victim along with her father. However, the police settled the case at the Ollur Police Station itself after calling the accused.
• On 28th September 2020, the accused stabbed the lady doctor in her clinic with a knife on the right side of her stomach thereby causing grievous internal injury and the only person who witnessed the murder was her father.
• The accused was initially booked under sections 307, 324, 341 of IPC but after the victim succumbed to her injuries which led to her death even sections 302, 201, 212 of IPC were added.

SUPREME COURT ORDER

• The Supreme Court noted that the sessions court had rejected the bail application however Kerala HC approved the bail citing indefinite incarceration is not necessary.
• The Supreme Court found the bail order passed by the HC as flawed and said, though the HC observed the seriousness of the case and found it heinous still it went on to grant bail on the basis that the accused has already spent 75 days in prison.
• It was also observed that the HC did not look into the order passed by the sessions court on why it rejected the bail application.
• Lastly, the court believes that the HC has completely misinterpreted the object, ambit and directions issued in the case of Re: Contagion of Covid 19 virus in Prisons.
• Thus Supreme Court rejected the bail granted to the accused by Kerela HC.

Do you think there was an error in the order passed by Kerela HC? Yes or No Comment below.