1 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE OF BOMBAY, BENCH AT AURANGABAD CRIMINAL APPLICATION NO. 3456 OF 2010 Ashok S/o Apparao Kale ..APPLICANT -VERSUS- The State of Maharashtra ..RESPONDENT ......... Mr. J.R. Jadhav, advocate for applicant. Mr. V.D. Godbharale, A.P.P. for respondent ........ (CORAM : V.R.KINGAONKAR,J.) DATE : 7th October, 2010. PER COURT : 1. This is an application for bail. The applicant is the husband of informant Smt. Archana. He is arrested in connection with Crime No. 33/2010 registered at Akhada Balapur Police Station for commission of offence under Sections 498-A, 307, 302, 504 r/w 34 of the Indian Penal Code. 2. Heard learned Advocate for the applicant and the learned A.P.P. Perused the investigation papers which were made available during the course of hearing. 3. It, prima facie, appears from the investigation papers that informant Smt. Archana and her sister Varsha were residing in the common house cared by the applicant and husband of said 2 Varsha. The applicant is brother-in-law of said Varsha being the brother of her husband. It appears that the applicant and Smt. Archana entered the wedlock before about two years. It further appears that informant Smt. Archana could not give birth to any child, and therefore, she was being ill-treated by the applicant in the matrimonial home. His relatives also used to ill-treat her for such a reason. 4. The F.I.R. purports to show that on 25th March, 2010, the maternal mother-in-law of informant Smt. Archana, by name, Tainabai had come to house of the applicant as a guest. In the relevant evening at about 9 p.m. said Tainabai instructed the applicant to reach informant Smt. Archana to house of her parents. Thereupon the applicant asked his wife to go back to house of her parents with her uncle, who had come there. She declined to go to house of her parents. The applicant started beating her by means of stick. The sister of informant, namely, Smt. Varsha intervened in order to stop the quarrel. The applicant allegedly abused her sister and beaten up her. He immediately pushed herself in a nearby public well (Aad). He also pushed her sister Varsha in that public well. The younger brother of the applicant took both the injured married women to hospital at Nanded. It appears that Varsha died due to drowning. 3 5. The learned Advocate for the applicant would submit that Varsha had gone to the well for fetching drinking water and might have fallen due to reason of imbalancing herself. He argued that the applicant can not be prima facie guilty of causing death of said Varsha. He contended that the applicant deserves liberty during the trial because there was no enmity between him and deceased Varsha. I find it difficult to accept the contentions of the learned Advocate for the applicant. What appears from the investigation papers is that the applicant was annoyed because of obstinate attitude of his wife. She was not ready to go back to the house of her parents. The applicant thereafter started beating her. It is important to notice that deceased Varsha was found to bear external injuries when the postmortem examination was carried out. So also, there was contusion on left eye of the informant Smt. Archana besides fracture of left tibia. The incident occurred in the relevant evening and ordinarily, deceased Varsha might not have gone to the well for fetching drinking water. The fact that both the women were found to bear injuries and that the informant was being ill-treated due to non-conceiving of child are the relevant circumstances. The witnesses are from the same village and/or relatives of the applicant. Obviously, if the applicant is released on bail, there is possibility of his tampering with the evidence. 4 Because he may exert influence over the witnesses or may terrorise witnesses. He appears to be ill tempered person. 6. For the reasons aforestated, in view of the prima facie evidence about complicity of applicant, the application is dismissed. (V.R.KINGAONKAR) JUDGE gas/cri3456.10