Supreme Court Cancels Bail Of Accused In Honour Killing Of Brother In Law

The Supreme Court today cancelled bail of an accused who killed his brother in law as an honour killing on account of the family’s disapproval of the marriage between her sister and the deceased.

The Bench of Chief Justice NV Ramana, Justice AS Bopanna and Justice Hrishikesh Roy directed the trial court to conclude the trial at the earliest.

“The trial court shall therefore make all efforts to conclude the trial and dispose of the case as expeditiously as possible but in any event not later than one year from the date of receipt of a copy of this order,” Court said.

Court was hearing an appeal against the order dated December 1, 2020 passed by High Court for Rajasthan, bench at Jaipur wherein the Court enlarged the accused who was the main conspirator in the crime on bail.

“ The reading of the FIR and the charge sheet shows that prima facie there is material against the respondent No. 2 and in view of that, we are of the opinion that for the time being, it is not proper to extend the liberty of bail to the respondent No. 2. In view of the pendency of the trial, we are not inclined to go into the details of the case,” order passed by Rajasthan High Court read.

Appearing on behalf of the deceased’s wife, Senior Advocate Indira Jaising argued that the High Court enlarged the accused on bail in a mechanical manner through an order bereft of reasons without taking into consideration all the aspects of the matter.

The Court while taking note of the documents placed on record observed that the same indicated a prima facie material against the accused. It also held that mere examination of the deceased’s wife could not be considered as a change in circumstance by the High Court to consider the accused's fourth bail application and enlarge him on bail.

“Though the wife of the deceased has been examined and a contention has been put forth with regard to her statement, it is not the evidence in its entirety and it is premature to conclude on the basis of a stray sentence. Further, merely classifying the appellant as the principal star witness and referring to her statement is of no consequence since the entire evidence will have to be assessed by the Sessions Court before arriving at a conclusion,” Court said.

Case Title: Mamta Nair v State of Rajasthan