Allahabad High Court
RAJU BHARTIversusSTATE OF U.P.
- Decided
Holding
The court held that the presumption of dowry death under Section 118 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, precludes the grant of bail to the accused.
Summary
The applicant, husband of a woman who died by hanging, sought bail in a criminal case alleging dowry harassment under Sections 80(2), 85 of the Criminal Procedure Code, the B.N.S. Act and Sections 3/4 of the D.P. Act. He argued that the charge sheet had been filed, there was no need for custodial interrogation, and he had no prior criminal record. The State and the first informant opposed bail, citing that the death occurred within seven years of marriage and that investigation records indicated continuous dowry harassment, invoking the presumption of dowry death under Section 118 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023. The court considered the presumption and the nature of the allegations and concluded that bail could not be granted. Consequently, the bail application was rejected and the matter disposed.
Issues considered
- Whether bail should be granted to the accused husband under Sections 80(2) and 85 of the Criminal Procedure Code in light of the presumption of dowry death under Section 118 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023.
- Whether the presumption of dowry death under the 2023 Act bars the grant of bail.
- Whether the applicant's lack of criminal history and the filing of a charge sheet affect the bail decision.
Legislation cited
- Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 — s. 118
- B.N.S.
- Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 — s. 80(2), 85
- D.P. Act — s. 3, 4
Subjects
- bail
- dowry death
- presumption of dowry death
- Criminal Procedure Code
- Section 118
- Domestic violence
- Criminal trial
Judgment
HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD
CRIMINAL MISC. BAIL APPLICATION No. - 33922 of 2026
Raju Bharti
.....Applicant(s)
Versus
State of U.P.
.....Opposite
Party(s)
Counsel for Applicant(s) : Manoj Kumar Srivastava, Satya Priya
Upadhyay
Counsel for Opposite Party(s) : G.A., Manjulesh Kumar Shukla,
Yogesh Dutta Mishra
Court No. - 66
HON'BLE ARUN KUMAR SINGH DESHWAL, J.
1. Heard Sri Manoj Kumar Srivastava, learned counsel for the applicant,
Sri Yogesh Dutta Mishra, learned counsel for the first informant, Sri
Anand Pratap Singh, learned A.G.A. for the State and perused the record.
2. The instant bail application has been filed with a prayer to release the
applicant on bail in Case Crime No. 118 of 2026, under Section 80(2), 85
B.N.S. and Section 3/4 D.P. Act, P.S. Babhani, District Sonbhadra, during
the pendency of the trial.
3. Contention of learned counsel for the applicant is that the applicant is
husband of the deceased and he has been falsely implicated though there
is no material to show that soon before her death, she was subjected to
cruelty for non-fulfillment of demand of dowry. It is further submitted
that the deceased died due to hanging and as per the postmortem report of
the deceased the cause of death is asphyxia due to antemortem hanging.
Charge sheet has been filed by the police, therefore, there is no
requirement for custodial interrogation. The applicant has no criminal
history and he is languishing in jail since 24.06.2026. In case, he is
granted bail, he will not misuse the liberty of bail and would cooperate in
the trial proceedings.
4. On the other hand, learned counsel for the first informant as well as
learned A.G.A. for the State have vehemently opposed the prayer for bail
BAIL No. 33922 of 2026
2
and submitted that the deceased died within 7 years of her marriage under
unnatural circumstances. He further submitted that statements of
witnesses recorded during investigation show that the applicant had been
continuously harassing the deceased for non-fulfillment of demand of
dowry which resulted into her death, therefore, he is not entitled to be
released on bail.
5. Considering the submissions of learned counsel for the parties and
taking into account the fact that the applicant is husband of the deceased,
who as per the postmortem report died due to asphyxia as a result of
antemortem hanging within 7 years of her marriage and evidence
collected during investigation shows that she was subjected to cruelty
with regard to demand of dowry prior to her death, therefore, in view of
presumption of dowry death under Section 118 of Bharatiya Sakshya
Adhiniyam, 2023, this Court is not inclined to grant bail to the applicant.
6. Accordingly, the present bail application is rejected.
7. Application, if any, stands disposed of.
(Arun Kumar Singh Deshwal,J.)
September 23, 2026
SA
Digitally signed by :-
SALMAN ALI
High Court of Judicature at Allahabad
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