A special court in Bhopal on Saturday rejected the bail plea of retired judge Giribala Singh, an accused in ex-model and actor Twisha Sharma dowry death case, holding that the charges against her were serious.
Giribala Singh is the mother-in-law of Twisha, who was allegedly found hanging at her marital home here on May 12. Giribala Singh and her son Samarth Singh were later arrested on charges of dowry-related harassment, mental abuse and domestic violence.
The Central Bureau of Investigation is probing the case.
The bail application was initially listed before Special Judge Neelam Shukla, who recused herself from hearing the matter. The case was later transferred to the court of Special Judge Ram Pratap Mishra, where detailed arguments were heard.
The court had reserved its order on Friday after hearing arguments from the prosecution and the defence.
The defence sought bail on humanitarian grounds, contending that Singh was an elderly woman suffering from health issues and was not receiving adequate medical care in jail.
It also submitted that Giribala Singh's nearly 100-year-old mother depended on her for care.
The defence further argued that Singh had cooperated with the investigation, suffered a burglary at her residence while she was in custody, and received regular salary and war widow's pension, making the dowry demand allegation implausible.
The CBI opposed the plea, arguing that being a woman alone could not be a ground for granting bail, particularly when the victim was also a woman.
The probe agency submitted that the Madhya Pradesh High Court had on May 27 quashed the anticipatory bail granted to Singh by a subordinate court in Bhopal.
The CBI also told court that she had refused to provide her voice sample during the investigation.
Singh had attempted to influence the investigation by contacting a CCTV technician and a salon operator connected with the case and had sent a private representative to obtain CCTV footage, the CBI said while opposing the bail plea.
The agency expressed apprehension that if released on bail, the accused could influence witnesses, tamper with evidence or hamper the ongoing investigation.
After hearing both sides, the special court rejected the bail application of Giribala Singh.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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