Nation

SC to hear woman's plea against bail to mother in case of 'honour-killing' of son-in-law

PTI

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court Thursday agreed to consider a plea of a woman seeking cancellation of bail of her mother who along with her husband and son is accused of hatching conspiracy to get her son-in-law killed in a sensational case of honour killing in 2017.

Kerala youth Amit Nair, who married Jaipur-based Mamta of other caste against the wishes of her parents and brother in 2015, was shot dead allegedly by a hired killer in 2017.

A bench comprising Chief Justice N V Ramana and Justices Surya Kant and Aniruddha Bose, which had earlier cancelled the bail granted to the brother, was urged by senior lawyer Indira Jaising that this was the fit case for cancellation of the bail.

The senior lawyer said Bhagwani Devi, the mother, had an active role in the killing of her son-in-law and the court below has wrongly granted her the bail and not only that, now the father, who is also a co-accused, has been granted bail.

"Issue notice,: the bench said, adding that it will consider the plea for cancellation of bail of father later when the separate petition would be filed by his widow daughter.

The apex court on July 12 had cancelled the bail granted by the Rajasthan High Court to accused Mukesh Choudhary, accused of conspiring to kill Nair, a friend and brother-in-law.

The bench had termed as "unsustainable" the bail granted to Choudhary and had asked him to surrender before the lower court which will have to conclude the trial in the case within a year.

It is significant to note that the apex court had cancelled the bail to Mukesh Choudhary earlier also saying that "the documents already taken note by this Court indicates that there is prima facie material against the respondent No.2".

The apex court had rejected the submission of the accused that the prime witness, the wife of the deceased, has been examined during the trial and hence he may be granted bail in the case.

The top court had said the statement of the widow of the victim was not the evidence in its entirety.

In May 2017, Jeewanram Chaudhary and Bhagwani Devi, parents of the girl, allegedly orchestrated their son-in-law Amit Nair's murder in Jaipur.

The police alleged that the parents of the woman entered her residence along with an unknown accomplice who shot Amit and a second accomplice waited in a car outside.

The FIR was lodged by Amit's mother Rama Devi in Jaipur on May 17, 2017, under sections 452 (house trespass), 302 (murder) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC.

Amit had studied civil engineering and started a construction business while Mamta is an LL.B graduate and had interned with an NGO.

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