Ankit Uttam v. State of U.P
Case Details
HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD CRIMINAL MISC. BAIL APPLICATION No. - 56145 of 2023 Ankit Uttam .....Applicant(s) Versus State of U.P. .....Opposite Party(s) Counsel for Applicant(s) Counsel for Opposite Party(s) : Santosh Kumar Rai : Birendra Singh, G.A., Yash Pratap Singh Court No. - 65 HON'BLE KRISHAN PAHAL, J. List has been revised. Heard Sri V.P. Srivastava, learned Senior Counsel assisted by Sri 1. 2.
Legal Reasoning
Santosh Kumar Rai, learned counsel for the applicant and Sri Yash Pratap Singh, learned counsel for the informant as well as Sri R.P. Patel, learned State Law Officer for the State and perused the record. 3. Applicant seeks bail in Case Crime No.167 of 2023, under Sections 498-A, 304-B, 323, 506 I.P.C. and Section 3/4 D.P. Act, Police Station Bakewar, District Fatehpur, during the pendency of trial. PROSECUTION STORY: 4. The marriage of the applicant was solemnized with the deceased person as per Hindu Rites on 18.02.2023 and subsequent to it, the applicant and other family members are stated to have subjected her to cruelty for demand of Rs.50 lakhs, ornaments etc. as dowry, thereby led her to death on 18.07.2023. 2 Bail No. 56145 of 2023 ARGUMENTS ON BEHALF OF APPLICANT: 5. The applicant is absolutely innocent and has been falsely implicated in the present case. The FIR is delayed by more than seven hours and there is no explanation of the said delay caused. 6. There was a suicide note of the deceased person, which was taken into possession by the Investigating Officer and was relied upon by the applicant as the said suicide note indicated that the deceased had committed suicide out of her own sweet will and she has not allayed any allegations of cruelty, being assaulted or tormented by any person whatsoever. 7. This Court had ordered for retrieving the original suicide note and getting the FSL report regarding verification of handwriting of transcriber of the said suicide note with that of the deceased person. 8. The police had taken the handwriting samples of the deceased person from the school where she studied and the said FSL report, annexed as CA-1 to the counter affidavit filed by learned A.G.A., indicates that the handwriting of the deceased person on the suicide note matched with her handwriting given as sample, as such, it was a clear- cut case of suicide committed by the deceased person. 9. The reason for committing the suicide is that the deceased was having some relationship with her brother-in-law (Jija). The said fact also stands fortified from the police report as the applicant had filed an application under Section 156(3) Cr.P.C. and a police report was received from the police station which indicated that there was something fishy going on between the deceased and her brother-in-law. 10. It is true that the doctor had not opined about the cause of death, but he has stated that the said opinion shall be given after getting the viscera report, although he has observed that hyoid bone of the deceased person was found fractured. 3 Bail No. 56145 of 2023 11. It is not necessary that in each and every case, the hyoid bone may be broken in the case of strangulation. The hyoid bone, some time in exceptional cases, may be found broken in the cases of hanging. 12. Much reliance has been placed on Modi’s Medical Jurisprudence & Toxicology, Twenty-Seventh Edition, whereby the difference between 'Hanging' and 'Strangulation' has been given. The same is being reproduced herein as under:- DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HANGING AND STRANGULATION The differences between hanging and strangulation are given below in tabulated form: Hanging Strangulation 1. Mostly suicidal. 1. Mostly homicidal. 2. Face – Usually pale and petechiae rare. 2. Face – Congested, livid and marked with petechiae. 3. Saliva – Dribbling out of the mouth down on the chin and chest. 3. Saliva – No such dribbling. 4. Neck – Stretched and elongated in fresh bodies. 4. Neck – Not so. 5. External signs of asphyxia, usually not well marked. 6. Ligature mark – Oblique, non-continuous placed high up in the neck between the chin and the larynx, the base of the groove or furrow being hard, yellow and parchment-like. 5. External signs of asphyxia, very well marked (minimal if death due to vasovagal and carotid sinus effect). 6. Ligature mark – Horizontal or transverse continuous, round the neck, low down in the neck below the thyroid, the base of the groove or furrow being soft and reddish. 7. Abrasions and ecchymoses round about the edges of the ligature mark, rare. 7. Abrasions and ecchymoses round about the edges of the ligature mark, common. 8. Subcutaneous tissues under the mark – White, hard and glistening. 8. Subcutaneous tissues under the mark–Ecchymosed. 9. Injury to the muscles of the neck – Rare. 9. Injury to the muscles of the neck–Common. 4 Bail No. 56145 of 2023 10. Carotid arteries, internal coats ordinarily ruptured. 11. Fracture of the larynx trachea and hyoid bone. 12. Fracture – dislocation of the cervical vertebrae – Rare. 13. Scratches, abrasions fingernail marks and bruises on the face, neck and other parts of the body – Usually present. 14. Sometimes evidence of sexual assault. 15. Emphysematous bullae on the surface of the lungs – Not present. 10. Carotid arteries, internal coats ruptured in violent cases of a long drop. 11. Fracture of the larynx and trachea – Very rare and may be found that too in judicial hanging. 12. Fracture-dislocation of the cervical vertebrae – Common in judicial hanging. 13. Scratches, abrasions and bruises on the face, neck and other parts of the body – Usually not present. 14. No evidence of sexual assault. 15. Emphysematous bullae on the surface of the lungs – May be present. 13. The aforesaid chart indicates that it is not mandatory that fracture of larynx trachea and hyoid bone may be found in case of strangulation only. It may even be found in the cases of hanging though rarely. Even the aforesaid chart indicates that the fracture/dislocation of the cervical vertebrae may be rarely found in case of strangulation, although no such fracture has been found in the aforesaid post-mortem report. 14. The aforesaid chart has been given for general purposes but not for exceptional cases, as herein the doctor despite observing the fracture of hyoid bone has not opined that the cause of death was asphyxia as a result of ante-mortem strangulation. Had he been sure about the cause of death being strangulation, he would have mentioned it in the conclusion part of the post-mortem report. 15. The applicant has a strong alibi as he was not present at the place of offence. He was attending to his duties as Assistant Teacher from 7:30 A.M. to 03:30 P.M., as such, he is entitled for bail. The deceased and the applicant both were Assistant Teacher in Education Department of the 5 Bail No. 56145 of 2023 State. The attendance record has been annexed as Annexure RA-6 filed with the rejoinder affidavit. 16. There is no criminal history of the applicant. The applicant is languishing in jail since 24.07.2023 and is ready to cooperate with trial. In case, the applicant is released on bail, he will not misuse the liberty of bail. ARGUMENTS ON BEHALF OF STATE/INFORMANT: 17. The bail application has been opposed on the ground that breaking of hyoid bone is indicative that the deceased was subjected to force and has been strangulated. It does not depict the case to be of hanging. 18. The deceased has expired within the precincts of the house of the applicant and the cause of death is not natural, as such, the applicant is not entitled for bail as the offence has been committed within a span of about five months of her marriage. 19. The said suicide note does not indicate any date or time on it and the photocopy of the same was provided and was not a part of the case diary. It has been taken into possession after being ordered by this Court. IN REBUTTAL: 20. The said original suicide note has been taken into possession and has been given by the cousin of the applicant and the said application depicting the fact is also on record. CONCLUSION: 21. This Court had called for the status of trial from the concerned Trial Court. As per the said status report dated 26.08.2025, one witness has been examined and the cross-examination of the said witness is going on. The applicant is incarcerated for more than two years. 6 Bail No. 56145 of 2023 22. The Supreme Court in the case of Nitish Chauhan vs. State of U.P., AIR 2023 SC 2149, has granted bail to the appellant therein on the ground that the appellant has been in custody for nearly two years four months and only two witnesses had been examined out of twenty six prosecution witnesses. 23. Considering the facts and circumstances of the case, submissions made by learned counsel for the parties, the evidence on record, taking into consideration the said chart referred in Modi’s Medical Jurisprudence & Toxicology (Supra) and the FSL report regarding the suicide note, and without expressing any opinion on the merits of the case, the Court is of the view that the applicant has made out a case for bail. The bail application is allowed. 24. Let the applicant- Ankit Uttam involved in aforementioned case crime number be released on bail on furnishing a personal bond and two sureties each in the like amount to the satisfaction of the court concerned subject to following conditions. (i) The applicant shall not tamper with evidence during trial. (ii) The applicant shall not pressurise/intimidate with the prosecution witnesses. (iii) The applicant shall appear before the trial court on the date fixed. 25. In case of breach of any of the above conditions, it shall be a ground for cancellation of bail. Identity, status and residence proof of the applicant and sureties be verified by the court concerned before the bonds are accepted. 26. It is made clear that observations made in granting bail to the applicant shall not in any way affect the learned trial Judge in forming his independent opinion based on the testimony of the witnesses. (Krishan Pahal, J) September 8, 2025 (Ravi Kant) Digitally signed by :- RAVI KANT High Court of Judicature at Allahabad