High Cout grants bail to mother-in-law in Nikki Bhati murder case

Noida: Allahabad high court on Friday granted bail to the mother-in-law of Nikki Bhati in the alleged murder case, without expressing any opinion on the merits of the case.After Nikki (28) was allegedly burned to death on Aug 21 last year at her home in Kasna, police had named her husband Vipin, father-in-law Satvir, mother-in-law Daya and brother-in-law Rohit as accused. The four were arrested on Aug 24.This was the third bail in the case, as Rohit was granted bail on Jan 1 and Satvir on Jan 27. Now, only Vipin remains behind bars. He and the three other accused in the case are facing charges under BNS sections 103(1) (murder), 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt) and 61(2) (criminal conspiracy). Advocate Amit Bhati Bodaki, local counsel for Vipin, told TOI that they will move the HC for his bail. In an order released on Friday, the HC bench headed by Krishan Pahal observed that the eyewitness and son of the deceased clearly said that the applicant (mother-in-law) was not present at the scene at the time of the incident. CCTV footage from a nearby shop also showed the applicant there at that time and that she rushed home upon hearing about the incident and later accompanied the deceased to the hospital for medical treatment.The court directed that the applicant (mother-in-law) be granted bail upon furnishing a personal bond and two sureties to the satisfaction of the concerned court, subject to verification. She must not tamper with evidence, intimidate witnesses and must appear before the trial court as required. Any breach of these conditions will result in cancellation of bail, it said. The observations made shall not influence the trial on merits.Counsel Gaurav Kakkar, assisted by Anupam Dubey, argued in court that Daya (55) was falsely implicated and was not involved in the offence. Kakkar also pointed out that the FIR was delayed by 19 hours without any explanation. "It suggests that the FIR was instituted after due deliberation and consultation. The instant FIR is too crisp and short and does not indicate the details of the incident," the counsel said. Kakkar argued, "Had the applicant been involved in the commission of the offence, she would not have accompanied the deceased to the hospital and assisted in her treatment." Counsel for complainant Kanchan Bhati (Nikki's sister) Amit Kumar Yadav and RP Patel opposed bail, alleging that the applicant acted with the co-accused, previously assaulted the deceased and supplied thinner used in the murder. It was admitted, however, that she has no criminal history.