Jabalpur/Bhopal: Observing that the CBI found no evidence to establish the allegation of dowry harassment against retired district judge Giribala Singh in connection with the suicide of her daughter-in-law Twisha Sharma, the Madhya Pradesh High Court on Wednesday directed her lawyers to remove references to dowry harassment from her regular bail plea.
The court, however, did not grant bail to Singh, who is currently in custody in the case. The matter has been listed for further hearing on October 8.
The direction came during the hearing of Singh’s regular bail application before Justice Ajay Kumar Nirankari.
During the hearing, the CBI informed the court about the findings of its investigation and the charges contained in its chargesheet. The agency had dropped the dowry death charge against Singh and instead charged her with abetment of suicide under Section 108 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
The bail application had initially been filed when Singh was facing the offence of dowry death under Section 80(2) of the BNS. Following the CBI’s chargesheet and the change in the charges, her counsel informed the court that the nature of the case had changed.
The High Court subsequently directed Singh’s lawyers to amend the bail application and remove the references to dowry harassment, as the CBI investigation had not found evidence to support the allegation against her.
The CBI, however, has alleged in its chargesheet that Singh abetted Twisha’s suicide by taunting and harassing her. The agency has invoked Section 108 BNS against her in place of the dowry death charge.
Twisha Sharma, 33, was found dead at her matrimonial home in Bhopal on May 12. Her death led to allegations by her family against her husband and in-laws, following which the CBI investigated the circumstances surrounding the death and filed its chargesheet.
Singh has denied the allegations and, in her bail plea, claimed that Twisha was suffering from depression. She has also maintained that the allegations related to dowry were false.
The deceased’s father has opposed Singh’s regular bail plea. Singh was earlier granted anticipatory bail by a Bhopal trial court on May 15.
The State and Twisha’s parents challenged the order before the High Court, which quashed the anticipatory bail on May 27.
Singh subsequently remained in custody, with the Bhopal court extending her judicial custody on subsequent occasions.
The High Court will hear the amended bail application on October 8.
Twisha’s family’s advocate Anurag Pandey confirmed the report and told IANS that the family may seek reinvestigation on this particular point in the next hearing.
(IANS)
