Being a woman is not a criteria for granting bail, says Karnataka High Court
Bengaluru (IANS). In a major judgement, the Karnataka High Court has denied bail to a woman who stabbed her husband to death, saying that being a woman cannot be a criterion for granting bail.
The wife is accused of slitting the husband’s throat when he was asked questions about the illegal relationship.
A bench headed by Justice Mohammad Nawaz gave this order on Monday while considering the petition of the accused Delhi Rani.
The bench rejected the counsel’s argument that keeping in view that the accused is a woman, she should be granted bail.
Rani is in judicial custody since September 24, 2022. He challenged the trial court’s order in the High Court, which rejected his bail plea.
The bench said that Delhi Rani cannot be held innocent because of the injuries she sustained in the incident. Her husband Shankar Reddy was murdered at the residence where Rani and their two minor children lived. The statement of three witnesses has confirmed the illegal relationship of the wife with the second accused in the case. Since Shankar Reddy was an obstacle in the illicit relationship, he was killed.
After the incident, the accused had injured himself and hid his jewelry to mislead the investigation.
The police have recovered earrings, chain and night dress of the accused, which have blood stains, the bench said.
The minor boy had given a statement that after waking up in the morning, he saw his father lying in a pool of blood. Earlier there was a fight between the accused Delhi Rani and the deceased Shankar Reddy.
The offense is of serious nature and bail cannot be granted merely because she is a woman, the court said.
Delhi Rani and her husband R. Shankar Reddy was married and has two children. Delhi Rani had an affair. Shankar Reddy worked in Bangalore and his family lived in Andhra Pradesh.
He shifted his family to Bangalore for the education of his children. The accused and his lover conspired to murder Shankar Reddy. On February 24, 2022, the accused slit Shankar Reddy’s throat while he was sleeping.
The Yeshwantpur police, which had registered a case of murder against unknown persons, disclosed the matter and arrested Delhi Rani and her lover.
