SC sets aside condition of maintaining wife for anticipatory bail in 498A IPC case

Read Time: 05 minutes

Synopsis

Court said that neither such condition should have been imposed by the high court while granting an anticipatory bail, nor such could be a ground for rejection of the petition filed by the appellant

The Supreme Court has set aside a Jharkhand High Court's order which had declined to modify a condition for anticipatory bail to a man in a dowry harassment case that he would maintain his wife with full honour and dignity as his lawful wife.

A bench of Justices Bela M Trivedi and Satish Chandra Sharma said that neither such condition should have been imposed by the high court while granting an anticipatory bail, nor such could be a ground for rejection of the petition filed by the appellant.

In a relief to appellant, Kunal Choudhary, court granted him anticipatory bail in a case filed under Section 498 A of the IPC pending before the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Ranchi.

The appellant assailed the order of June 17, 2022 passed by the High Court of Jharkhand in his petition filed under Section 482 Criminal Procedure Code for modification of the order of August 10, 2021.

The high court had then allowed the anticipatory bail application on the condition that the appellant shall take the wife to his house at Pandra locality of Ranchi and maintain her with full dignity and honour as his lawful wife.

After having heard the counsel for the appellant, the court had granted a stay in the complaint case of July 16, 2018.

The high court by the impugned order had dismissed the petition filed by the appellant observing that in view of the adamant attitude of the appellant in not resuming the conjugal life with the opposite party, wife in the house of the appellant, where the opposite party was staying, his petition could not be considered. 

The appellant, on his part, had said that he was not in position to come to reside at Tulsi Nivas, Upper Bazar with the wife either alone or along with his parents. He had said he could not stay away from his parents who were living in Ranchi town in a rented house at Pandra. 

The top court bench, having regard to the facts and circumstances of the case, set aside the order.

"It is directed that in the event of the arrest of the appellant in respect of the Complaint Case filed under Section 498A of IPC, pending in the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Ranchi, he shall be released on bail, on the conditions that may be imposed by the said Court," the bench ordered.

Case Title: Kunal Choudhary vs. the State of Jharkhand & Anr