* IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI % Reserved on: 19th September, 2025 Pronounced on: 08th October, 2025 + BAIL APPLN. 1915/2025 SUNIL KUMAR SINGH S/o Vishwanath Singh R/o H.No.100, Jagatpur, Dikhat Mai, Mainpuri, Uttar Pradesh-205367. .....Petitioner Through: Mr. B.P. Sharma and Ms. Samsun Nihar, Advocates. versus STATE NCT OF DELHI Through SHO P.S. Ranhola. .....Respondent Through: Mr. Shoaib Haider, APP for the State CORAM: HON'BLE MS. JUSTICE NEENA BANSAL KRISHNA J U D G M E N T NEENA BANSAL KRISHNA, J. 1. First Anticipatory Bail Application under Section 482 B.N.S.S. read with Section 528 B.N.S.S. has been filed on behalf of the Petitioner in case FIR No.0849/2024 under Section 304B/498A/34 IPC (Section 80/85/3(5) BNS) registered at Police Station Ranhola, Delhi. 2. It is submitted that the Applicant is father-in-law of deceased Sonam Kumar w/o Pankaj. It is claimed that there is no link between the death of daughter-in-law and the registration of FIR under dowry death by the Police. 3. Deceased Sonam Kumari w/o Pankaj is a case of natural death due to heart attack while she was at her parental home. The Police have mixed up the investigations after recording false statements of the parent of the deceased. 4. About six months prior to her death the deceased had accidently consumed acidic substance. Her statement was recorded at Police Station Pala, Faridabad vide DD No.20 dated 21.08.2024 wherein she that while working, she accidentally consumed some acid for which no one was responsible. The matter was closed on her statement. The deceased took the treatment of her throat which got fully cured. 5. The Applicant asserts that he had spent about Rs. 5-6 lakhs in her treatment. He is the sole bread earner and has no active link with the marital family of Pankaj, his son who was living separately and were having separate kitchen. There is no suspicious circumstance in her demise as she died at her father’s residence and not in the matrimonial home. According to the Doctor, she had developed Ventricular Tachycardia on 25.11.2024 and Pulmonary Arrest resulting in her death. 6. The Applicant claims that he is innocent and deserves to be granted Anticipatory Bail. He undertakes not to abuse the liberty of Bail and to comply with all the directions of the Court. A prayer is, therefore, made for grant of Anticipatory bail. 7. The Status Report has been filed on behalf of the State, wherein it has been explained that an information was received vide DD No.142A dated 12.12.2024 at Police Station Ranhola from RML Hospital in regard to a patient Sonam Kumar, aged 20 years who had been admitted vide MLC No.67364/2024. The Inquiry Officer/SI Deepak along with SI Rajat Khaiwal went to RML Hospital and collected the MLC of the deceased, whose provisional diagnosis was “A/H/O injection of unknown substance/Acid 4 month back at Faridabad as told by patient and brought by and nature of injury under observation”. 8. The statement of the patient was recorded and videography was done. In her statement she alleged that she had come in contact with Pankaj, son of the Applicant through Instagram, in the year 2022-23. On the promise of Pankaj to marry her, she left her parental home at Baprola Delhi and got married to him on 21.03.2023. Thereafter, Pankaj gave information to her father about the marriage and the Complainant/father of the deceased came to Faridabad, but she refused to go with her father and decided to live with Pankaj, her husband and his family at Faridabad, Haryana. Her father thus, severed his ties with the deceased. 9. Thereafter, behaviour of her in-laws changed and they started harassing and torturing her and threatened to kill her. In the meantime, in April, 2024 she gave birth to a boy. She wanted to share this information with her father, but Pankaj and her parents-in-law did not allow her to convey the information. She further alleged that her in-laws had been harassing and torturing her. In August, 2024 near the Raksha bandhan festival, her husband, father-in-law and mother-in-law forced her to take acid under the threat of killing her child. Thereafter, the Applicant informed her father about the incident and they took her to the hospital initially, but then were left helpless, thereafter. 10. On 07-08/12/2024 she managed to flee and came to her parental home in a week condition. She was taken to RML Hospital for treatment as her condition got worsened. In her recorded statement, she alleged that her husband Pankaj, father-in-law Sunil Kumar/Applicant, mother-in-law Suman Devi, Sister-in-law Kajal and brother-in-law Krishna harassed and tortured her and she wanted legal action to be taken against them. 11. The victim passed away on 25.12.2024 during her treatment about which the information was received vide DD No.12A dated 25.12.2024. Statements of the parents of the victim were recorded after which the present case was registered on 25.12.2024 on the directions of SDM/Executive Magistrate, Rajouri Garden. The Post Mortem of the deceased was got done at RML hospital after which the body was handed over to the father. The Autopsy Doctor has kept the cause of death open till the receipt of Report of Viscera preserved along with Tissue from larynx and Laryngopharyns. The same have sent to FSL, Rohini for forensic analysis. 12. On 25.12.2024, co-accused Pankaj and his father were taken to Police Station. Pankaj was arrested and was sent to judicial custody. Applicant Sunil used plea of alibi of being present at his work place when the alleged incident took place. He claimed that he himself had taken the victim to several hospitals for her treatment after the incident. He was given time to provide details of her work place and the original treatment papers of the victim. 13. The Applicant neither appeared before the Investigating Agency nor provided the documents of treatment of the deceased. His Anticipatory Bail Application has been dismissed by the Court of Sessions, on 22.04.2025. 14. The Chargesheet has already been filed in the Court and the matter is listed for framing of Charge. The Applicant is evading his arrest and has not joined the investigations even after receiving of Notice to appear before the Investigating Agency. It is submitted that the arrest of the Applicant is necessary as there are direct allegations against him that he had threatened to cut the deceased into pieces, if she did not consume the acid. The Bail Application is, therefore, opposed. Submissions heard and record perused. 15. This is an unfortunate case where a young girl has allegedly fallen prey to the greed for dowry at the hands of the father-in-law and other family members. Young and starry-eyed with all the dreams of a happy marriage she got married on 23.03.2023 to Pankaj, son of the Applicant whom she had befriended through Instagram. As per the case of the Prosecution, the deceased had got married with Pankaj son of the Applicant on against the wishes of her parents, who had severed their relationship with her. The deceased came to live with her husband and the Applicant and other family members, in Faridabad. 16. Much scepticism prevails against the offences relating to dowry, but this is one case where the efficacy and the necessity of such provisions is demonstrated. It is not disputed that the deceased had consumed acid in the month of August, 2024 on the occasion of Raksha bandhan while she was residing in her matrimonial home for which she was taken to various hospitals for treatment. Her helplessness and being a captive of circumstances is evident from the fact that she had given a statement in the Police Station at Faridabad that she had accidentally consumed acid. She eventually left the matrimonial home on 10.12.2024, and had to be admitted in the Hospital because of her deteriorating health and she eventually died on 25.12.2024. However, before her death her statement was recorded by the Police on 24.12.2024 in RML Hospital, i.e. i.e one day prior to her demise, and has now acquired the status of Dying Declaration. She categorically stated about dory harassment and was compelled to consume acid. While the authenticity of these allegations are yet to be tested on the anvil of evidence, but at this stage it cannot be overlooked that there are serious allegations of dowry harassment at the hands of the Applicant, which had eventually compelled her to leave her matrimonial home on 10.12.2024 when she came to her parental home. Soon thereafter, she had to be admitted in the RML Hospital on 10.12.2024 because of her deteriorating health condition. 17. While the Applicant had claimed that there was no acts attributable to him and the demise had taken place while the deceased had come to her parental home, but the detailed statement made by the deceased a day prior to her demise, clearly prima facie spell out the atrocities and the cruelty to which she was allegedly subjected by the Applicant, which included making her drink the acid. 18. The Applicant has vehemently relied on the statement of the deceased recorded by Faridabad Police vide DD. No.20, wherein she stated that she had consumed acid accidently, but the veracity and voluntariness of this statement, which can only be established during the trial. 19. In fact, her earlier statement dated 21.08.2024 is a reflection of her helplessness as she had little choice since she was living in her matrimonial home while she had no parental support. 20. The Applicant has claimed that she had accidently consumed acid and he had taken her to multiple hospitals for her treatment and had spent Rs.5-6 lakhs, but despite being asked by the IO to furnish those documents, the same have not been given till date. Further, the averment of the Applicant of having spent Rs.5-6 lakhs, itself speaks of the seriousness of the damage to the organs of the deceased on account of the consumption of the Acid. 21. Considering the gravity of the allegations of being subjected to cruelty and being compelled to drink acid while living in the matrimonial home in the light of the dying declaration of the deceased, and her demise within less than 2 years of marriage, the Anticipatory Bail of the Applicant, is hereby, dismissed. Nothing stated herein, is an expression on the merits of the case. 22. The pending Applications are disposed of accordingly. (NEENA BANSAL KRISHNA) JUDGE OCTOBER 08, 2025 va BAIL APPLN. 1915/2025 Page 1 of 7