In a significant development in a gruesome honour killing case from Gujarat, the SC has declined to interfere with the bail granted by the Gujarat High Court to an accused alleged to have played a role in the conspiracy behind the murder of a young woman’s husband.
"We are not inclined to interfere with the impugned judgment and order passed by the HC. The Special Leave Petition (SLP) is, accordingly, dismissed," said the bench of the top court, headed by Justice Vikram Nath and also comprising Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh.
The case arises out of a brutal daylight murder allegedly committed as an act of revenge against an interfaith marriage. The woman, who was previously a Muslim, had married a Hindu man and subsequently embraced Hinduism. Her decision to marry outside her community allegedly provoked opposition from her parental family.
According to the prosecution, the woman’s family members, including her parents, brother and uncle, allegedly conspired to take revenge for the marriage.
The murder was planned around the period of Muharram. The woman’s juvenile brother, along with other accused persons, allegedly attacked and murdered her husband in broad daylight, inflicting as many as 25 injuries on his body. The accused were arrested and remained in custody.
The juvenile accused, alleged to have directly committed the murder, and the uncle, alleged to be the principal instigator and conspirator, were also behind bars.
The Gujarat High Court subsequently granted bail to the accused uncle, Sultan Ahmed Detha, prompting the victim’s wife, Razmaben Yagnik Dudhrejiya (petitioner), to approach the top court seeking cancellation of the bail.
Taking note of the allegations and the circumstances surrounding the case, the SC initially issued notice on the petition.
However, upon hearing the matter, it ultimately declined to cancel the bail and refused to interfere with the HC's order, having considered the nature and extent of the accused’s alleged role in the incident.
The arguing counsel for the petitioner was advocate Rishesh Sikarwar, and Prashant Kumar Umrao was the Advocate on Record (AOR) for the petitioner in the top court.
The case details were that the deceased, 24-year-old Yagnik Laxmidas Dudhrejiya, belonging to the Hindu community, and the petitioner, Razmaben alias Hetalben (daughter of Ishabhai Abubhai Detha, belonging to the Muslim community), both residents of Shedhakhai, developed a love relationship.
In January 2023, they left the village and married. On January 07, 2023, the petitioner's father lodged a missing person complaint at Bhanvad Police Station. After the couple appeared before the police and recorded their statements, the missing report was closed.
The couple thereafter resided outside the village. A daughter was born to them on June 24, 2024, and soon thereafter, they returned to Shedhakhai village to reside with the deceased's parents.
On August 03, 2024, while the deceased was standing at the Shedhakhai bus stand with witness Hardeepsinh Jadeja, the accused, armed with iron pipes, an axe, sticks and a knife, formed an unlawful assembly and assaulted the deceased, causing a total of 25 injuries to his body. The injured man was first taken home, then shifted by a 108 ambulance to the Government Hospital in Khambhalia, and then referred to the G.G. Hospital, Jamnagar, where he was declared dead.