Women can be given Bail for Non-Bailable Offences

In the case of Nethra v The State of Karnataka, the High Court of Karnataka held that bail can’t be given in offenses punishable by death or life sentence is not law. The single Bench of Justice M Nagaparasannna observed this while granting bail to a woman accused of murdering her husband.

The facts of the case: 

The father of the victim filed a complaint against the accused, that he saw his son die while the wife was holding a weapon in her hand when he visited the couple in the midnight, he said that the accused ran away after that.

The petitioner was thereafter held and was in custody since November 8, 2021. She then filed an application for bail under  Section 439 of the CrPC during the investigation which was not accepted.

The charge sheet was filed on 25 January, 2022. The application for bail was filed on 17th February 2022, which was rejected on the ground that the charge sheet was filed with an offense punishable by death or life imprisonment.

The Advocate for the petitioner argued that, the accused is a woman and even if the accused is charged with Sec 302 of IPC, she is entitled to be considered for release, also the charge sheet has already been filed.

The prosecution contended that offense is punishable by death or life imprisonment,the accused notwithstanding a woman should not be released as she is a threat for the society.

Judgment: The High Court held that

Under Section437 of the CrPC, Petitioner is a woman and is entitled for a bail.

In the case of Kavitha v State of Karnataka (2019), and Ratnawwa v The State of Karnataka (2014), and Thippamma v State of Karnataka (2017), the references were made.

In exceptional cases, if the law states so, and the facts of the case are so gory that the offense charged is grave, then in such cases, not granting the bail could be justified.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, the court stated that, in its opinion, the facts of the case are not so grave, that granting the bail under the Section 437 of CrPC can’t be considered. While looking at the conduct of the accused for having surrendered before the police for alleged murder, and she has no prior criminal record, hence granting bail should be possible as the investigation is completed and chargesheet has been filed.

The Court granted bail to the accused on a personal bond of Rs 2 lakhs and with a few conditions.
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