Delhi HC grants bail to law graduate in mother's murder case for taking care of minor son

The Delhi High Court has granted bail to a law graduate, accused of murdering her mother, saying her seven-year-old child was being deprived of the care of a natural guardian as he was left with her former husband's relatives.

The high court, which noted that the 28-year-old woman's former husband was not attending to the child, said the plea for bail warrants consideration on humanitarian grounds.

''Prolonged incarceration, in these circumstances, bears directly upon the child's welfare and deprives him of the care and supervision of his natural guardian. The plea for bail, therefore, also warrants consideration on humanitarian grounds,'' Justice Sanjeev Narula said in an order passed on Wednesday.

According to the prosecution, the woman in conspiracy with her paramour had allegedly murdered her mother in 2022 as she was against her relationship with another man.

To give it a colour of robbery by unknown assailants, the accused persons had removed jewellery and cash from the premises and disposed of their blood-stained clothes to evade detection, it said.

The woman was arrested in the case on February 20, 2022, a day after the incident.

She sought bail on the ground that she was a young single mother with no prior criminal antecedents and has been divorced by her husband who has since remarried.

The woman said her seven-year-old child was presently in the custody of her former husband's relatives, without proper care or support and her release was imperative to enable her to resume care of her minor son.

The prosecution opposed the bail plea saying the woman was involved in the brutal and cold-blooded murder of her own mother.

It said considering the gravity and heinous nature of the offence, the woman's release at this stage would not be conducive to the fair conduct of the trial.

The high court, in its order, said it was well established through a catena of judgments by the Supreme Court that the object of granting bail is neither punitive nor preventative and the primary aim sought to be achieved is to secure the attendance of the accused person at the trial.

''In the present case, considering the prolonged incarceration of the applicant, the snail-pace of trial, the absence of direct prima facie evidence, her status as a single mother, and her clean antecedents, this court is of the view that a case for grant of regular bail is made out,'' the court said.