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Judgment
Madan Mohan Punchhi, J. (Oral)
In this petition for anticipatory bail, I had passed an interim direction on 2061986 in favour of the petitioners directing the officer arresting them to release them on bail to his satisfaction He has done so.
The petitioners are accused of offences under sections 498A and 306 of the Indian Penal Code. One Dimpy Lamba, an unfortunate newly married girl committed suicide on 1.6.1986 in her house at Gurgaon. The petitioners happen to be the motherinlaw and the married sisterinlaw of Dimpy Lamba. The first information report was lodged by Mr. S.S. Dalal, father of Dimpy Lamba deceased. He is a Member of the Haryana Public Service Commission. He accused therein the petitioners of having meted out cruel treatment to his daughter during her married life, which was of merely 16 to 17 months. In particular, he accused the motherinlaw of having twice extracted presents from his family in the form of gold ornaments and cash at or about the time when a son was born to Dimpy Lamba. That happened in the months of November and December, 1985. The motherinlaw lived at Delhi with her husband and the sisterinlaw with her husband at Bikaner in these days. Statedly, Dimpy Lamba was living in her inlaws house till about February/March, 1986 when she set up her own house at Gurgaon with her husband, where she committed suicide.
The investigation has collected a suicide note written by Dimpy Lamba in which she has not even remotely mentioned the two petitioners driving her to suicide. She has put the blame squarely on her husband. The investigation has also recorded two dying declarations in which there are some traces of the petitioners troubling her, How proximate was that conduct with the event of suicide is not mentioned. These are matter of details. In any case, no final opinion need be expressed on the material so far collected though the learned counsel, appearing on both sides have been at pains to advert before me all the material collected so far by the investigation.
It is, the Code of Criminal Procedure is partial towards women. Though the Court should not release a person on bail if there appear reasonable ground or grounds for believing that he has been guilty of an offence yet it tilts in favour of a female offender. Hence to balance the entire matter, I am of the view that the discretion exercised by me earlier in granting interim bail to the petitioners shall be settled by making the direction absolute. The prayer of the petitioners is thus acceded to. However it is subject to the direction that the petitioners, shall make themselves available for investigation and interrogation at convenient hours as and when required by the police. They are further directed not to dissuade any person acquainted with the facts of the case from disclosing the same to the investigation or the Court, as the case may be. This petition thus is allowed in these terms.