IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA Cr.Misc. No.23094 of 2010 Prabhawati Devi, wife of Harihar Ojha, R/o village Ojhawalia, P.S.Kudra, District Kaimur………Petitioner Versus The State of Bihar ………………………………………Opposite party ----------- 04/ 12.10.2010 Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and learned counsel for the State as well as learned counsel for the informant. Petitioner is an accused for offences punishable under sections 304 B and 34 of the Indian Penal Code. From the F.I.R., it is quite apparent that the petitioner was the mother-in-law of the deceased, who was killed in the house of the petitioner in which there were only three inmates, namely the petitioner, her other daughter-in-law and her son, who happened to be the husband of the deceased. The F.I.R. further shows that when the informant, who happened to be the uncle of the deceased, went along with others to the petitioner’s place, the house was found to be locked from outside and when with the help of police the door was broken, the deceased was found dead with clear marks of ropes on her neck and hands and it was also found that on her legs injuries by nails (kilas) were found which clearly showed that she was brutally tortured and was cruelly killed by the assailants. This fact has been supported by the post-mortem also. Furthermore, there cannot be any explanation of the accused persons locking the door from outside and leaving the deceased in the house. Furthermore, the said act cannot be done by a single person. It is mostly seen that a female is tortured by female either she be a mother in law or a daughter in - 2 - law. In the instant case the involvement is clear from the record. In the said circumstances, the petitioner cannot take advantage of the fact that she is an old lady and is in custody for about ten months. Accordingly, this petition is dismissed. Harish (S.N. Hussain, J.)