Madhya Pradesh High Court reserves order on Giribala Singh's bail plea in Twisha Sharma death case

The Madhya Pradesh High Court on Monday reserved its order on the bail plea moved by former judicial officer Giribala Singh who is in judicial custody in a case accusing her of subjecting her daughter-in-law Twisha Sharma to cruelty and abetting her suicide.

Noida-based Twisha Sharma had married Bhopal-based lawyer Samarth Singh after the two met through a dating app. Barely five months into the marriage, Sharma was found hanging at her matrimonial home in Bhopal on May 12.

Justice Ajay Kumar Nirankari heard detailed arguments in Giribala Singh's bail plea since this morning and concluded the hearing around 4:40 pm.

"Thank you! I will pass the order," the judge said.

Twisha Sharma's family have accused her husband and in-laws of subjecting her to persistent domestic violence and harassment over dowry demands, leading to the registration of an FIR at Katara Hills police station under various provisions of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Dowry Prohibition Act.

Giribala Singh, former President of the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission in Madhya Pradesh, was initially granted anticipatory bail by a sessions court. The Madhya Pradesh High Court later cancelled the relief after the State government and the victim's family challenged the order.

Meanwhile, the case was transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) which arrested Giribala Singh and Samarth Singh.

After their period of CBI custody ended on June 2, a Bhopal court remanded both accused to judicial custody. Their bail petitions are currently pending.

Singhs have been charge sheeted by the CBI under Sections 85 (cruelty and harassment caused by husband and his family members) and 108 (abetment to suicide) of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

The Supreme Court recently stayed the trial in the case while issuing notice to the CBI on a petition moved by the victim's father for transfer of the trial to Delhi.

Seeking bail in the matter, Giribala Singh today argued that while she was unhappy with her daughter-in-law's decision to abort her child, she had neither subjected her to cruelty nor abetted her suicide.

The Court questioned why she had called various persons in the judiciary and civil administration soon after Twisha Sharma's death. Giribala Singh's counsel said she was trying to convince people that she had not committed any murder as was being alleged. He said there was nothing wrong with informing them about the facts.

The counsel also said that there was no allegation of evidence tampering since the day the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) took over the probe.

"I am already in custody for five months. I am an old lady of 65. There is no chance of me absconding or tampering with witnesses. Why should now I be detained in judicial custody," he added.

Senior Advocate Siddharth Aggarwal, representing the victim's father, said that an independent and capable woman was reduced to a shadow of herself by the accused.

Opposing the bail plea, Aggarwal said Giribala Singh has a propensity to influence the course of investigation. He referred to calls made by her to various persons in positions of power in the judiciary and civil administration soon after Sharma's death.

"If this is immediate reaction of the person, there can be no doubt that investigative process and the judicial process must be saved from being subverted," Aggarwal said.

The senior counsel said Giribala Singh had subjected Sharma to character assassination by questioning her about past relationships.

"This is the level to which character assassination of women has become so usual and normal for us. The abuses that this girl had to hear, which are recorded for posterity in those WhatsApp chats and in these statements and in the phone calls are being read out in court today as if it is normal!," Aggarwal said.

Aggarwal also referred to the circumstances under which Sharma did not want to conceive a child. In particular, he pointed to the chats indicating that her husband Samarth Singh was using various illicit drugs.

"This is not a stage where the applicant ought to be released on bail," the senior counsel said.

Additional Solicitor General Sunil Jain, appearing for CBI, said Giribala Singh was instrumental in instigating cruelty and suicide in the case.

"She was a silent spectator but instigated everything. There is sufficient material to demonstrate this," Jain said.

He added that Sharma was subjected to cruelty for dowry and character assassinated, prompting her to commit suicide. Jain also submitted that the accused have not been exonerated of the charge of dowry death as the investigation into the offence is still ongoing.