Pooja Tiwari @ Pooja Devi @ Pooja Kumari v. The State Of Bihar
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.24097 of 2026 Arising Out of PS. Case No.-476 Year-2023 Thana- MAJHAULIA District- West Champaran ====================================================== Pooja Tiwari @ Pooja Devi @ Pooja Kumari Wife of Ratneshwar Kumar @ Ratneshwar Kumar Tiwari Resident of Village - Nautan Khurd, P.O.- Harpur, P.S.- Majhauliya, District - West Champaran.
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar Bihar ... ... Opposite Party/s ====================================================== Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s :
Mr. Sitesh Kashyap For the Opposite Party/s :
Mr. Ram Sevak Choudhary ====================================================== CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE ANIL KUMAR SINHA ORAL ORDER 22-04-2026
1. Heard learned Counsel for the petitioner and learned Additional Public Prosecutor for the State.
2. This application, for grant of anticipatory bail, arises out of Majhauliya Police Station Case No. 476 of 2023, disclosing offences under Sections 341 /323 /498A /120B / 304 B/34 of the Indian Penal Code.
3. As per the complaint/FIR, the marriage of the informant's daughter was solemnized with the co-accused Rupesh Tiwari on 22.06.2021 and after sometime, the informant came to know about the illicit relationship of the petitioner with Rupesh Tiwari. The deceased protested over the aforesaid illicit relationship upon which the accused persons used and assaulted.
2/4 They also started demanding dowry for starting business and due to non-fulfillment of demand the deceased was tortured and on 09.11.2022, the accused persons poured kerosine oil over the deceased while she was warming milk for her child and set the deceased on fire, ultimately the deceased died on 04.12.2022 during course of treatment. Thereafter, the accused persons disposed of the dead body.
4. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner has falsely been implicated in this case on the basis of concocted story. The fact of matter is that the deceased met with an accidental fire while she was boiling the milk on 09.11.2022 and she was admitted in hospital in burnt condition where she survived for about a month and during course of treatment she died on 04.12.2022. The present FIR has been lodged after cremation of the deceased on 15.06.2023 on the basis of a complaint petition filed by the informant 05.01.2023. It has further been submitted that the informant and other family members attended the deceased while she was admitted in the hospital but during course of treatment no complaint/FIR was lodged by them and after her cremation the present FIR/complaint as an afterthought has been lodged after much delay. Petitioner is sister-in-law (gotni) of the deceased and
3/4 mother-in-law of the deceased has been granted anticipatory bail by a coordinate Bench of this Court vide order dated 16.04.2026 passed in Cr. Misc. No. 23949 of 2026. The husband of the deceased as well as father-in-law of the deceased are in custody.
5. Learned APP for the State has opposed the prayer for bail and submit that the petitioner is named in the FIR and there was illicit relationship between the petitioner and the coaccused Rupesh Tiwari, i.e. husband of the deceased.
6. Having regard to the submissions made on behalf of the parties and taking into consideration the fact that motherin-law of the deceased has been granted anticipatory bail by a coordinate Bench of this Hon'ble Court and petitioner is sisterin-law of the deceased, I am inclined to grant privilege of anticipatory bail to the petitioner.
7. This application is, accordingly, allowed.
8. Let the petitioner, above named, in the event of her arrest or surrender before the Court below within four weeks, be released on bail on furnishing bail bond of Rs. 10,000/- (ten thousand) with two sureties of the like amount each to the satisfaction of learned C.J.M., Bettiah, West Champaran /Successor Court, in connection with Majhauliya Police Station Case No. 476 of 2023 , subject to the condition laid down under
4/4 Section 438 (2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure/Section 482(2) of the BNSS, 2023.
(Anil Kumar Sinha, J) Ranjeet/- U T