Chhattisgarh HC Denies Husband’s Third Bail Plea In Wife’s Homicidal Death Case, Citing Strangulation Findings

The applicant sought regular bail under Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, in a case alleging offences under Sections 302, 201 and 304-B read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code.

His first bail application had been withdrawn and his second rejected on merits.

The deceased, his wife, was found hanging from a tree; the post-mortem attributed death to asphyxia due to strangulation and described it as homicidal.

The applicant argued that he was initially unnamed, had been in custody since 19 July 2024, and that the trial was delayed, with 7 of 40 prosecution witnesses examined.

He also relied on the possibility that the deceased had been involved in a love affair.

The State opposed bail, relying on the gravity of the allegations and the circumstances of the deceased’s death.

The Court considered the bail application under Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023.

It considered Section 304-B IPC, which concerns dowry death, and the statutory presumption under Section 118 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, corresponding to Section 113-B of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872.

That provision requires the Court to presume that a person caused a woman’s dowry death where it is shown that, soon before her death, she was subjected by that person to cruelty or harassment in connection with a dowry demand.

The Court also relied on Chetram Verma v. State of Uttar Pradesh, Criminal Appeal No. 770 of 2026, which identified relevant considerations in bail applications involving the unnatural death of a married woman, including the alleged offence, the relationship between the accused and deceased, the place and circumstances of death, the post-mortem findings and the statutory presumption.

The Court considered the post-mortem evidence of strangulation and the opinion that the death was homicidal, alongside the prosecution allegation that the deceased was subjected to cruelty over suspicion about her character and her body was later found hanging.

It also treated the applicant’s relationship to the deceased as her husband and the timing of the death as relevant to the Section 304-B allegation.

Applying the considerations in Chetram Verma, the Court concluded that the circumstances and material in the case diary indicated prima facie involvement.

It did not consider the applicant’s custody, asserted trial delay or other submissions sufficient to outweigh those circumstances.

It rejected the third bail application.