BA-557-11.sxw 1 Dixit IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION CRIMINAL BAIL APPLICATION NO.557 OF 2011 Bano Mohammed Shafiq ... Applicant V/s. The State of Maharashtra, Thru' Rabale Police Station ... Respondent Mr. S.C. Kanojia for the Applicant. Mr. K.V. Saste, APP, for the Respondent. CORAM:- A.M. THIPSAY, J. DATED :- 13 TH JULY, 2011. P.C. : 1. Heard. 2. I have gone through the Bail Application and the annexures thereto. 3. Mrs. Tabbasum - daughter-in-law of the Applicant - caught fire on 18th June, 2010. She was taken to the hospital, but succumbed to the burn injuries, which were 95%, on 23rd June, 2010. Before her death, two statements of Tabbasum were recorded. The first one, which was recorded on 18th June, 2010 by a Special Executive Officer, states that the fire had been accidentally caught by her. The second one, recorded on the next day by a Police Officer, states that she was being ill-treated by her husband and the relatives of the husband including the Applicant, and that, therefore, Tabbasum had poured kerosene over her person and set herself on fire. BA-557-11.sxw 2 Dixit 4. Without attempting to evaluate the evidential value of these dying declarations and discussing which version out of the two versions is likely to be true, the least that can be said is that the material collected by the prosecution against the Applicant is conflicting. 5. Moreover, the Applicant is in custody since June, 2010. 6. It would be just and proper to release the Applicant on bail. 7. The Bail Application is allowed. 8. The Applicant is ordered to be released on bail in the sum of Rs.15,000/-, with one surety in like amount. [A.M. THIPSAY, J.]