Jammu, Jan 3: The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has granted bail to three women accused in a 2023 murder case in Anantnag, citing the statutory proviso that allows courts to consider bail liberally for women undertrials, even in non-bailable offences.
Justice Rahul Bharti allowed the bail applications of Saleema Bano, Reshma, and Rubina, residents of Cheri Panzgam, Kokernag. The three were among 14 accused named in FIR No. 21/2023 at Police Station Larnoo, initially under Sections 451, 341, 506, 323, 427, 147, 148, and 307 IPC, later upgraded to Section 302 IPC following the victim’s death.
The women were arrested in January and May 2024 and had remained in judicial custody. Their bail pleas were previously rejected by the Principal Sessions Judge, Anantnag, citing the seriousness of the offence and their conduct during investigation.
The High Court set aside the trial court’s decision, noting that it ignored the mandatory spirit of the proviso to Section 437(1) CrPC. The court observed that the allegations against the women were general and their specific roles were not clearly defined. The alleged weapon was sticks, and several material and eyewitnesses, including the complainant, had already been examined, reducing the risk of evidence tampering.
The Court also considered personal circumstances: one petitioner is a breastfeeding mother, all three have minor children aged three to eight, and Saleema’s husband is also incarcerated in the same case. Saleema tragically lost her eight-year-old son in a drowning incident during her custody and was not allowed to attend the child’s burial.
The women were released on personal and surety bonds of Rs 50,000 each, subject to conditions that they remain within J&K unless prior permission is obtained from the trial court, and that they do not influence witnesses or prejudice the ongoing trial.
Advocate S A Hashmi represented the petitioners, while Government Advocate Illyas Laway appeared for the Union Territory.
