Bombay High Court: In a case wherein, a pregnant woman and her husband were alleged to have assaulted a biker, who later succumbed to injuries in his brain, a Single Judge Bench of Ashwin D. Bhobe, J., after considering the nature of the allegations against the applicant, who was now a mother of 25 days old child, opined that the custodial interrogation of the application was not required. The Court thus, allowed the application and granted her pre-arrest bail.
Background
On 16-3-2025, the victim-deceased came in front of the scooty motorcycle ridden by the applicant’s husband and the applicant was a pillion rider. Thereafter, altercation between them resulted in the deceased being abused and assaulted by the applicant and her husband. It was alleged that the applicant’s husband assaulted the deceased by paver block on his head and later, the deceased succumbed to injuries to his brain.
During investigation it was revealed that the applicant’s role was assaulting the deceased with her chappal, fist blows and hand, and the deceased succumbed to the injury, caused to his head arising out of the assault, by use of the paver block, used by the applicant’s husband. Thus, the applicant’s husband was immediately arrested and was in custody since then and the applicant at the time of offence was at the stage of 30 weeks of her pregnancy.
The applicant filed an application for anticipatory bail before the Special Judge which was rejected on 5-4-2025. Thus, the applicant filed the present application under Section 482 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 seeking anticipatory bail, for the offence punishable under Sections 103, 109, 352, 115(2) read with Section 3(5) of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.
Counsel for the respondent submitted that the offence involved in the crime was a serious offence, and it was revealed that the applicant was the main instigator and used helmet to assault the deceased. Thus, she was required for recovery of chappal and helmet used by the applicant for assaulting the deceased.
Analysis, Law, and Decision
The Court noted that the applicant’s role, who was at the stage of 30 weeks’ of pregnancy, was of assaulting the deceased with fists and chappal. The Court further noted that the investigation in the present matter was near completion and thus, after considering the nature of the allegations against the applicant, who was now a mother of 25 days old child, and that there were no criminal antecedents against her, opined that the custodial interrogation of the application was not required.
The Court referred to that the objection of the respondents that the applicant was essential for recovery of the chappal and helmet and could not be granted bail, and opined that the said issue was covered by the Supreme Court in Sushila Aggarwal v. State (NCT of Delhi), (2020) 5 SCC 1.
The Court allowed the application and held that the applicant was secured by pre-arrest bail. The Court thus directed that the applicant be released on bail on furnishing a PR Bond of Rs 25,000 with one or two sureties in the like amount, to the satisfaction of the Special Judge.
[Anam Ahmed Ansari v. State of Maharashtra, Criminal Anticipatory Bail Application No. 1185 of 2025, decided 27-5-2025]
Advocates who appeared in this case:
For the Applicant: Shekhar H. Singh, Advocate for the Applicant.
For the Respondents: Asmeeta Bhoir, Advocate for Respondent 2; Sameer M. Mangaonkar, APP for Respondent 1/State.
What’s common intention or common object then? The intention was murder not amounting to culpable homicide which has 10 years’ punishment . If she is mother of child, deceased was also child of his parents , husband of his wife and to be father of unborn child who was also killed due to assault on mother’s abdomen. The sympathy is misplaced.