Case Facts:
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA Criminal Miscellaneous No.3215 of 2012 ====================================================== Manoj Rai .... .... Petitioner/s Versus The State Of Bihar .... .... Opposite Party/s ====================================================== CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE DINESH KUMAR SINGH ORAL ORDER (Per: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE DINESH KUMAR SINGH) 2 01-02-2012 Petitioner being husband is apprehending his arrest in a case registered for the offences under [STATUTE] . The marriage was performed five years prior to the occurrence. Accusations are of demand of gold chain and motorcycle and for non-fulfilment of the same, torture was inflicted. It is submitted that during investigation, it has come that that due to the quarrel with the husband, the victim consumed poison. Postmortem report does not reflect any external injury. It is further submitted that informant subsequently retracted from initial version and has filed a petition to that effect before learned Court below. Assuming the fact that victim consumed poison after quarrel with the Patna High Court Cr.Misc. No.3215 of 2012 (2) dt.01-02-2012 2 / 2 2 husband, that does not amount to torture in view of the definition given in the Penal Code. Considering the retracted version of the informant, it is a fit case of regular bail. Let learned Court below consider regular bail of the petitioner, if the petitioner surrenders within a period of six weeks in connection with Dariyapur P.S. Case No. 112 of 2011, pending in the Court of learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Saran at Chapra. With the observations above, the application stands disposed off. Let the order of this Court be transmitted through FAX to the learned Court below at the cost of the petitioner. Shageer/- (Dinesh Kumar Singh, J.)

Applicable IPC Section: 304B

Statute Text:
Section 304B of the Indian Penal Code. Dowry death. Where the death of a woman is caused by any burns or bodily injury or occurs otherwise than under normal circumstances within seven years of her marriage and it is shown that soon before her death she was subjected to cruelty or harassment by her husband or any relative of her husband for, or in connection with, any demand for dowry, such death shall be called "dowry death", and such husband or relative shall be deemed to have caused her death. Whoever commits dowry death shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than seven years but which may extend to imprisonment for life.