1. All these four petitioners are before this Court seeking grant of bail under Section 439 of Cr.P.C., in Crime No.315/2022 of Suddaguntepalya Police Station, registered for the offences of punishable under Sections 498A and 306 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code (for short 'IPC'), on the basis of the first information lodged by the informant.

2. Petitioner No.1/accused No.2 is the father-in-law and petitioner No.2/accused No.3 is the mother-in-law of the deceased and petitioners 3 and 4 being accused 4 and 5 are the workers.

3. Heard Sri Shankarappa S, learned Counsel for the petitioners and Sri Shankar H S, learned High Court Government Pleader for the respondent-State. Perused the materials on record.

4. Brief facts of the case are;

Accused No.1 married the deceased and they lived cordially for 15 years and out of their wedlock, there were 4 children born to them. It is alleged that on 28.11.2022, at about 9.30am, the complainant Sri Javeed Ulla, the father of the deceased lodged a complaint stating that the accused 1 to 3 are harassing the deceased one or the other pretext and forced her to bring additional dowry and they harassed her both physically and mentally. Such being the fact, on 25.11.2022, early in the morning, the deceased committed suicide in the house of her in-laws. Complaint came to be lodged by the father of the deceased and the matter is still under investigation and these petitioners were taken to custody on 29.11.2022.

5. Accused No.2 is the father-in-law who is aged 68 years, accused No.3 is the mother-in-law, who is aged 55 years. Accused No.4 was working at MKS Convention Hall under accused No.1 and the accused No.5 is a flower decorator and he used to decorate the convention hall and they are in no way connected to the case.

6. Learned counsel for the petitioner made available the medical report of the deceased which shows that the deceased was suffering from depression from 05.11.2022. It is also noticed that the post mortem report indicates the death is due to Asphyxia as a result of hanging.

7. Nevertheless the merit of the case, considering the principle of granting bail, it is necessary to mention the rule “Bail is a rule and jail is an exception”. The theory is put forth by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in a number of cases. Though prima-facie it appears that these accused Nos.2 and 3 being the father-in-law and motherin-law, directly or indirectly connected to the death of the deceased and the alleged death occurred at their house, it is a matter of trial. However, considering the age and period of abode in the respective address, it is appropriate to grant bail to the petitioners by imposing suitable conditions which will take care of the apprehension expressed by the prosecution. Accordingly, I proceed to pass the following:

ORDER

The petition is allowed.

The petitioners 1 to 4/accused 2 to 5 are ordered to be enlarged on bail in Crime No.315/2022 of Suddaguntepalya Police Station, Bengaluru on obtaining personal bond from each of them in a sum of Rs.1,00,000/- (Rupees One Lakh only) with one surety for the likesum to the satisfaction of the jurisdictional Court, subject to the following conditions:

a) The petitioners shall not tamper the evidence and threaten the prosecution witnesses;

b) The petitioners shall appear before the investigating officer as and when their presence is required for the purpose of investigation;

c) The petitioners shall appear before the trial Court till conclusion of trial, without fail.

d) The petitioners shall not indulge in any criminal case/s in future.

If in case, the petitioners violate any of the bail conditions as stated above, the prosecution will be at liberty to seek for cancellation of bail.