 Agencies
NEW DELHI, Mar 31: The Supreme Court has granted bail to a woman accused of murdering her husband, whose body was found stuffed in a trolley bag, dumped in a forest of Odisha's Khurda district.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh noted that the woman, who was arrested on January 23, 2023, has spent more than two years in custody and has a child who requires parental care.
It observed that out of 37 witnesses, 15 were examined and the conclusion of the trial will take some time.
"Taking into consideration the fact that the petitioner does not seem to be in a position to influence the witnesses and that she has to look after her minor child, however, without expressing any opinion on the merits of the allegations, we are inclined to release her on bail," the bench said.
It directed the woman to be released upon her furnishing bail bonds to the satisfaction of the trial court.
The bench said the petitioner shall cooperate with the ongoing trial and present herself before the trial court on the date of the hearing.
The woman had approached the top court against the order of the Odisha High Court of December 20, 2024, denying her bail.
Besides the woman, two of her accomplices, including a cousin of hers, were arrested by police on January 23 for the murder of her husband, who was supposedly an alcoholic and history-sheeter.
The three were arrested a day after the man's body was found in the Haripur jungle of Khurda district of the state.
According to police, he often beat up his wife after getting drunk.
On January 20, 2023, he again allegedly thrashed his wife, triggering her ire.
After the beating, she called her friend and her cousin and the three strangled the next day.
Her friend purchased a suitcase from Chandapur in Nayagarh district and reached her house in the evening, along with her cousin. |
