IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA Cr.Misc. No.48416 of 2008 1. DINESH CHOUDHARY, S/o late Bal Govind Choudhary 2. SHAKUNTLA DEVI, W/o Dinesh Choudhary Both resident of village – Tajan Bigha, P.S. – Rampur Chauram, District – Arwal. Versus THE STATE OF BIHAR ----------- 3. 9.2.2009 Heard Sri Sunil Prasad, Advocate for the petitioners and Sri Dasrath Mehta, APP for the State. The allegation is of killing the daughter-in-law of the petitioners. The case was initially registered under Section 304B of the IPC but probably after having perused the post-mortem examination report, which indicates that the lady was strangulated first to death and thereafter so as to misleading the investigation as also probably for creating their own defence the accused persons set the dead body on fire. This is testified by finding post-mortem burn injuries on the dead body by the doctor. The contention is that the petitioners were residing separately from their son and that they required to be released from custody as they could succeed in making out their own defence by engaging an able Advocate. The court is hearing a counsel appointed by the petitioners and the petitioners appear fully capable of engaging capable lawyers - 2 - even from jail. The very circumstances resulting in the commission of murder of the lady do not permit the court to direct the release of the petitioners Dinesh Choudhary and Shakuntla Devi, more so when the case diary does not indicate that the two petitioners were living separately from the son. The petition is dismissed. DKS/ (Dharnidhar Jha, J.)