Cannot grant bail merely because petitioner is woman: Karnataka High Court in case where woman was accused of killing husband

The Karnataka High Court recently refused to grant bail to a woman alleged to have stabbed her husband to death, while remarking that it cannot release the petitioner on bail merely because she is a woman. [Dilli Rani v. State].The Court was hearing a bail plea filed by a woman booked for murder, criminal conspiracy and other offences under the Indian Penal Code (IPC)..Justice Mohammad Nawaz refused to grant bail in view of the grave nature of the alleged offence.Responding to the petitioner counsel's request for bail since the accused was a woman who has been languishing in jail since last September, the Court said that it cannot order her release only on such a ground. "At this stage, there is a prima facie case against the petitioner. The offence alleged is grave in nature. Merely because the petitioner is a woman is not a ground to enlarge her on bail," the Court said. .The Court added that the grant of bail to a co-accused, who was alleged to have conspired to commit the murder, would also not help the petitioner's case. Therefore, it rejected the bail plea. .According to the prosecution, the woman and her lover (co-accused) had allegedly conspired to murder her husband with the intention of continuing their illicit relationship. The accused woman was alleged to have stabbed her husband while he was sleeping at home. Further, she was accused of injuring herself with the same knife to make it look like a robbery. After a complaint was filed by the landowners, a case was initially registered against unknown individuals. However, after conducting an investigation, the woman and her lover were eventually arrested..While rejecting the bail plea, the Court also took into consideration the statement made by the accused woman's son that there was a quarrel between his parents on the night before his father's death. In the morning, the son stated, his father was found dead with stab injuries..The petitioner was represented by Advocate Sri Gopal, while the respondent was represented by High Court Government Pleader RD Renukaradhya..[Read Order]