Amal Sreedharan vs State Of Kerala

Mohammed Nias C.P., J.

This application is filed u/s 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure seeking regular bail by the second accused in Crime No.87/2023 of the Vengara Police station, initially registered under Section 174 Cr.P.C. then altered to Section 109, 302 r/w section 34 of the IPC.

The prosecution case is that on 31/1/2023 at about 9.30 hours, accused No.1 committed murder of her husband at their residence by strangulation using her saree. It was accused No.2, the lover of the first accused, who instigated and abetted the first accused to commit the above crime.

The learned counsel for the petitioner submits that he is innocent and there are no criminal antecedents against him, there was no proof of him having committed the crime, and the chance of him absconding can be prevented by him staying in Kerala till the completion of the trial, the final report is already filed and his role was only to as a mediator to settle the disputes between the deceased and A2 as invited by CW3, the father of the deceased.

The learned Public Prosecutor opposing the bail application submits that it was great difficulty that he was apprehended as he had escaped to a tribal area in Bihar. The petitioner and the wife of the deceased were in love, and there is ample evidence to show that they had an illicit relationship. The deceased had warned the first accused several times about this, and even after that, A1 and A2 had continued their relationship. The accused found that the only way for them to live together was to kill the deceased. On the evening of 31/1/2023, when the deceased was lying in the bed in the bedroom of his quarters after work and was in a deep sleep at around 9.30 hours, the first accused slowly tied his hands with the towel and the front part of the saree was used as a rope tied it around his neck and pulled it out confirming the death of the husband and handed over the used mobile phone to the 8th witness to keep the evidence confidential and also with the intention to destroy the evidence. Accordingly, the Public Prosecutor submitted that in no circumstances should the second accused be released on bail

Considering the rival contentions and perusing the documents on record clearly shows that the second accused had prompted the first accused to kill her husband. Since the petitioner is a native of Bihar and it was much difficulty that he was apprehended, I find considerable force in the apprehension raised by the Public Prosecutor that he will abscond if released on bail. The crime has also been grave, and there is evidence supporting the charge, so I am not inclined to release the petitioner. Accordingly, the bail application is dismissed.