Punjab and Haryana High Court: A Single Judge Bench comprising of H.S. Madaan, J. denied bail to the petitioner who was accused of honour killing of his sister.
The petitioner was alleged to have done away with the life of his sister. The complainant, Rohtash Kumar, in his written complaint submitted that he had married one Kiran Rani, sister of the accused; and since it was an inter-caste marriage, her family was not convinced. After the marriage was solemnised, Kiran went back to her parent’s home to complete studies. The complainant informed that on 22-1-2017, he received a call from the petitioner, brother of Kiran who threatened to kidnap him and further told him that he had killed Kiran and cremated her. Based on the complaint, an FIR was registered; the investigation was done; and the charge sheet was filed under Sections 201, 302, 328, 506 and 34 IPC. He was facing trial and approached the Court for grant of bail.
The High Court perused the record and found it a case where judicial discretion ought not to be exercised in favour of the petitioner. The Court observed, cases of honor killing are increasing day by day, which is a very unhealthy trend. This tendency needs to be curbed. Persons indulging in honor killings must be dealt with sternly to send a message around that people indulging in such type of crimes shall be held accountable for their wrongful acts. The High Court noted the apprehension expressed by the respondent that if the petitioner was released on bail, there was the likelihood of him absconding and tampering with the prosecution evidence. Observing this, the High Court denied bail to the petitioner and accordingly, the petition was dismissed. [Ashok Kumar v. State of Haryana, 2018 SCC OnLine P&H 803, dated 31-05-2018]
