New Delhi: The Supreme Court Wednesday granted bail to a tribal woman from Gajapati district after considering her claim that she was a juvenile during the commission of offence and also that she has a one-year-old child.
A three-judge bench of the apex court comprising Justices NV Ramana, L Nageswara Rao and V Ramasubramanian directed the petitioner Janani Mandal, accused in the murder case of first wife of her husband, to be released on bail on such terms and conditions to be imposed by the trial court.
“Taking into consideration the facts and circumstances of the instant case, and particularly the facts that the petitioner is claiming juvenility at the time of commission of offence, she has suffered incarceration for a period of more than one and a half year and she has a minor child of about one year, we are inclined to grant her bail,” the bench said.
Earlier, the Supreme Court had issued a notice to the state government and sought its response in the special leave petition filed by Mandal challenging the order of the Orissa High Court that rejected her bail application.
The counsel appearing for the petitioner, advocate Anupradha Singh, submitted to the court that the judgement of the High Court was contrary to the facts and law.
“The HC order did not assign any reason to why the petitioner’s release is likely to expose her to moral, physical and psychological danger and that her release may defeat the ends of justice,” the advocate said.
The counsel also submitted that the HC erred in refusing bail to the petitioner as it defeats the object and reasons for which the Juvenile Justice Act has been enacted.
Mandal was charged by the state police with a murder case September 20, 2018 in Gajapati district. It was alleged that the petitioner along with her husband killed the first wife of her husband September 18, 2018.
The counsel for petitioner also stated in the petition that Mandal was 17 and was pregnant when the offence was committed.