JUDGMENT
P.K. Misra, J.
1. I have heard the Counsel for the petitioner. Counsel for the informant and the Public Prosecutor appearing for the State and perused the case diary and other documents.
2. The petitioner is a young, unmarried girl aged about20 years. Apprehending arrest in connection with Chandanpur P.S. Case No. 105 of 1997 registered under Sections 498A, 304B/34, Indian Penal Code, and Section 4 of the Dowry Prohibit) on Act, the application under Section 438, Code of Criminal Procedure, has been filed.
3. The deceased was married to the brother of the present petitioner in the month of May, 1997, The accused persons as well as the parents of the deceased are residents of Cuttack. The deceased committed suicide inside an abandoned house at Chandanpur in Puri District on 18.8.1997 and her dead body was detected in the early hours of 19.8.1997. In the detailed FIR dated 22.8 1997 lodged by the father of the deceased it has been alleged that there was demand for dowry at the time of marriage by the father-in-law and mother-in-law. It is also alleged that subsequently, the deceased was being tortured for non- fulfilment of demand for dowry. The main allegation in the FIR appears to be against the mother-in-law of the deceased. In course of investigation, the police has seized suicide notes left by the deceased as well as some writings of the deceased wherein she had described about her experiences in her in-laws’ house. Though in the suicide notes, she has not particularly blamed-any person, from the other writings of the deceased which have been seized,; it appears that the deceased was leading an unhappy life mostly on account of two factors: (i) she was being over-worked in her in-laws’ family the major blame for which has been ascribed to her mother-in-law; and (ii) her husband was incapable of performing the act of sexual intercourse. From the statements of the relations of the deceased, such as her mother and brothers, it appears that most of the allegations are against the mother-in-law and to a lesser extent against the husband and the father-in-law as well as the present petitioner. In the writings of the deceased there arc some allegations that the present petitioner being dominated by her mother (the mother-in-law of the deceased) was sometimes ill-treating the deceased, but by and large, the allegations and grievances were against the mother-in-law.
4. In the above back-drop of material apparent from the case diary and the seized documents, the question is whether the petitioner should be released under Section 438, Code of Criminal Procedure ? As already indicated, the petitioner is an unmarried young girl aged about 20 years. At the present stage of investigation, it may not be possible to fathom about the real reason for the deceased commiting suicide though prima facie there may be some justification in the submission of the Counsel for the petitioner that the apparent impotency of the husband might have been one of the factors for driving the deceased to commit suicide. The tragic end to the life of the deceased should not, however, be taken to be in a spirit of retribution to deny the petitioner the protection which is ordinarily available to a woman as contemplated in Section 437, Code of Criminal Procedure. Though the allegation against the petitioner to the effect that she had ill-treated the deceased cannot be rejected out of hand, the fact that she is a young girl aged about 20 years and as such is to be treated with compassion and mercy keeping in view the spirit of Section 437(1) Proviso, Code of Criminal Procedure/ should not be lost sight of while considering her application under Section 438. The allegations made by the prosecution are founded on the statements of the own blood relations of the deceased and certain documents recovered by the police and as such there is hardly any possibility on the part of the present petitioner to gain over or threaten such close relations of the deceased. Similarly, keeping in view her age and sex, it is difficult to imagine that she would flee from justice. Having regard to the nature of allegations against the present petitioner, the writings of the deceased herself and particularly in view of the fact that the petitioner is a young, unmarried girl aged about 20 years, I think, interest of justice would be served by directing that in the event of her arrest in connection with Chandanpur P.S. Case No. 105 of 1997, the petitioner should be released on bail of Rs. 20,000/- with one surety for the like amount to the satisfaction of the Arresting Officer. The petitioner should co-operate in the investigation and should make herself available for interrogation and should make her address available to the police so that the Investigating Authority would be in a position to find her and examine her whenever necessary. Any attempt by the petitioner to tamper with prosecution evidence and any violation of her conditions indicated in the order shall entail cancellation of this order of bail.
5. The observations made in this bail order are only prima facie observations made for the purpose of considering the present application for bail and shall not be taken to be expression of any definite opinion regarding the merits of the case either way and it is expected that such observations shall not weigh the Courts while considering the bail applications, if any, of other accused persons as well as while disposing of the criminal case at the stage of trial.
The Criminal Misc. Case is accordingly disposed of.