Malipatel Uma Devi v. The State Of Telangana

IN THE HIGH COURT FOR THE STATE OF TELANGANA AT

HYDERABAD THE HONOURABLE SMT. JUSTICE K. SUJANA CRIMINAL PETITION No.4217 of 2026 DATE: 31.03.2026 Between:

Malipatel Uma Devi .... Petitioner/accused No.2 AND The State of Telangana, Rep. by its Public Prosecutor, High Court at Hyderabad.

.... Respondent ORDER:

This Criminal Petition is filed under Section 482 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (for short 'BNSS') for grant of pre-arrest bail to the petitioner, who is arrayed as accused No.2 in Crime No.59 of 2026 of Karankote Police Station, Vikarabad District, registered for the offence punishable under Section 108 of the BNS.

2.

The case of the prosecution is that, on 13.03.2026, the defacto complainant lodged a report before the police stating that, on the date of incident, he went to sell vegetables at 06:00 hours in the morning from home. He further stated that he was called on phone by his wife and said that accused No.1 and his wife of Same village came to their house for the recovery of an amount of Rs.1 lakh which was lent by them to the complainant and his wife and they quarreled and abused the complainant and they threatened them that they would take their tractor. The complainant further stated when he arrived he found that her wife has committed suicide by taking poison and struggling immediately with help of neighbors shifted her to Tandur Govt. hospital for treatment.

After taking primary treatment doctors have referred him to Hyderabad and on the way she died. The complainant further added that his wife has committed suicide after being harassed by accused persons. Hence, the complainant requested for necessary action. Basing on the said complainant, the police registered a case for the above said offence.

3.

Heard Sri Koppula Gopal, learned counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner as well as Sri M. Ramachandra Reddy, learned Additional Public Prosecutor appearing for respondent-State.

4.

The contention of the learned counsel for the petitioner is that there is no such abetment committed by the petitioner herein and there is no mens rea attributable to the petitioner to constitute the offence punishable under Section 108 of the BNS. It is submitted that merely demanding repayment of the amount lent by the petitioner does not amount to instigation or abetment of suicide and there is no such suicide note to show that due to the petitioner's harassment, the deceased has committed suicide. It is further contended that accused No.1 was already arrested by the police and the petitioner herein is a lady and there is no specific allegations against the petitioner herein and she is ready to cooperate with the investigating authority. Therefore, he prayed the Court to grant pre-arrest bail to the petitioner by allowing this criminal petition. 5.

On the other hand, learned Additional Public Prosecutor opposed the submissions made by learned counsel for petitioner stating that the allegations against the petitioner are serious in nature and because of the harassment of the petitioner only the deceased has committed suicide. Further, the investigation is not yet completed. Therefore, he prayed the Court to dismiss the Criminal Petition.

6.

In the light of the submissions made by both the learned counsel and on a perusal of the material available on record, it is evident that the only allegation against the petitioner herein is that she went to the house of the victim and asked for the return of the amount given by her and her husband and also abused in filthy language and with these allegations, they registered a case against the petitioner herein for the offence punishable under Section of the BNS.

Considering the facts and circumstances of the case and also the nature of the allegations against the petitioner herein and the stage of the investigation, this Court deems it fit to grant pre-arrest bail to the petitioner, subject to the following conditions:

i.

The petitioner shall surrender before the Station House Officer, Karankote Police Station, Vikarabad District, within two weeks from today, and on such surrender, said Station House Officer shall release her on bail on executing a personal bond for Rs.25,000/-, with two sureties, for the like sum each.

ii.

The petitioner shall abide by the other conditions stipulated in Section 482(2)

of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, and co-operate with Investigating Officer in investigating the case.

iii.

The petitioner shall appear before the concerned Investigating Officer on every Monday between 09:00 a.m, and 05:00 p.m., for a period of 8 weeks or till the filing of the charge sheet, whichever is earlier, and thereafter, as and when required.

7.

Accordingly, this Criminal Petition is allowed. Miscellaneous applications, if any pending, shall stand closed.

_______________ K. SUJANA, J Date: 31.03.2026 TU

THE HONOURABLE SMT JUSTICE K. SUJANA CRIMINAL PETITION No.4217 of 2026 Date: 31.03.2026 TU