Neutral Citation No. - 2025:AHC-LKO:27996 Court No. - 15 Case :- CRIMINAL MISC. BAIL APPLICATION No. - 5631 of 2023 Applicant :- Shahzad Opposite Party :- State Of U.P. Thru. Prin. Secy. Deptt. Of Home U.P. Civil Secrett. Lko. Counsel for Applicant :- Anand Kumar Srivastava,Anand Kumar Srivastava,Ashish Kumar Gupta,Harish Chandra,Sant Bux Singh Counsel for Opposite Party :- G.A. Hon'ble Subhash Vidyarthi,J. 1. Heard Shri Anand Kumar Srivastava, learned counsel for the applicant, Ms. Nikita Mishra, learned A.G.A. for the State and perused the records. 2. The instant application has been filed seeking release of the applicant on bail in Case Crime No.105 of 2022 under Sections 498-A, 304-B I.P.C. & Section 3/4 of Dowry Prohibition Act registered at Police Station- Sadulla Nagar, District- Balrampur. 3. The aforesaid case has been registered on the basis of an F.I.R. lodged on 19.08.2022 against four persons, including the applicant, stating that the informant had got his sister married to the applicant on 28.11.2021; all the accused persons used to harass her for demanding dowry and when she had come to attend a function at a relation and she had told that the accused persons used to beat her for demanding Rs.3,00,000/- cash, a gold chain and a bullet motorcycle and unless their demand is fulfilled, they would kill her. 4. In the affidavit filed in support of the bail application, it has been stated that the applicant is innocent, he has been falsely implicated in the present case and he has no criminal history. 5. The State has filed a counter affidavit annexing therewith the copies of material collected during investigation and a copy of charge-sheet dated 14.03.2023. 6. The postmortem examination report mentions a ligature mark around the neck with a gap of 5 cm, a contused swelling on anterior aspect of left forearm, a contusion on mid aspect of right arm, contusion on mid aspect of left thigh, contusion on mid aspect of left leg, contusion on dorsal aspect of left foot and contusion on lateral aspect of left thigh. The cause of death has been opined to be Asphyxia due to antemortem hanging. 7. A supplementary affidavit has been filed on behalf of the applicant annexing therewith a copy of the statement of the informant recorded by the trial Court and he has not supported the prosecution case and he has been declared to be hostile. The PW-2 has also turned hostile. 8. The learned counsel for the applicant has submitted that as the two co-accused persons had turned hostile, the applicant is entitled to be released on bail. 9. Having considered the aforesaid facts and circumstances of the case and keeping in view the fact that the victim was the applicant's wife, she died in her matrimonial within a time span of less than nine months since her marriage; that besides a ligature mark, the victim suffered numerous injuries on her body which remain unexplained; that the witnesses who have turned hostile were not eye-witnesses of the incident and at the most they can state about dowry having not been demanded from them, however, since they are not eye-witnesses of the incident, the injuries suffered by the victim, which speaks for themselves, would not be ignored by the mere fact that witnesses have turned hostile, I am of the view that the aforesaid facts do not warrant exercise of discretion by ordering release of the applicant on bail. 10. Accordingly, this bail application is hereby rejected. . [Subhash Vidyarthi, J.] Order Date :- 12.5.2025 -Amit K- Digitally signed by :- AMIT KUMAR High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, Lucknow Bench