Punjab & Haryana HC takes old age into consideration, grants bail to father-in-law in murder case

Read Order: Jarnail Singh v. State of Punjab 

LE Staff

Chandigarh, August 26, 2021: The Punjab and Haryana High Court has allowed the bail plea of a 76-year-old man, facing charges in the murder case of his daughter-in-law, after considering his old age and the fact that he has been behind bars for almost one year.

“That being so, without making any comment on the actual merits of the case, as the prime allegation is against the husband of the deceased, simply looking at this stage at the age of the petitioner, the stage of the trial and the period of his custody, the petition is allowed. He be released on bail to the satisfaction of the trial Court/CJM/Duty Magistrate concerned,” noted the Bench of Justice Amol Rattan Singh.

There were specific allegations against the petitioner and other co-accused for committing the murder of Swaranjit Kaur in collusion with each other, and therefore dismissal of this petition was sought by the State.

The Court opined that a perusal of an earlier order passed in the case of the wife of the present petitioner, i.e. the mother-in-law of the deceased woman, showed that it had been contended that the daughter-in-law of the petitioner was habitual of taking a particular tablet on account of epileptic fits, and that one of the side effects of long use of that medicine was a tendency to commit suicide.

It was also contended in that petition that it was actually the petitioner’s son who has been alleged to have strangulated her, though the case of the accused was that she had committed suicide by hanging herself with a ‘dupatta’. 

Other than that, the wife of the petitioner was admitted to bail on the ground that she was a 74-year-old woman and this fact was taken into consideration along with the other contentions raised.

The counsel of the petitioner (father-in-law of the deceased) mainly argued that he is also 76 years old and has been in custody since September 11, 2020, and this period was slightly over 11 months. Also, only two prosecution witnesses had been examined out of 21.

The Bench, without making any comment on the actual merits of the case, and specifically looking at this stage at the age of the petitioner, the stage of the trial and the period of his custody, allowed the petition and granted him bail.