Justice Pitale, however, noted the lack of trial progress and, citing Supreme Court rulings, said that prolonged detention without trial violated the accused’s right to a speedy trial.
Bombay: The Bombay High Court granted bail to Mamta Yadav, a woman accused of killing her 14-month-old child with the help of her lover, after she had been in custody for over six years.
Justice Manish Pitale delivered the ruling on December 14, emphasizing that the right to a speedy trial is a fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution.
Yadav was arrested on February 1, 2019, following an FIR filed by her husband at Narpoli Police Station in Thane. She faced multiple charges under the Indian Penal Code, which has now been replaced by the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. The prosecution claimed that Yadav strangled her child, Aryan, and attempted to bury the body, citing an extramarital affair as the motive.
BRIEF FACTS
The case involves three accused. A juvenile, allegedly involved in helping bury the body, has been released, while another accused, Rakesh Patel, was granted bail in September 2022 due to prolonged detention and lack of trial progress.
The prosecution argued that Yadav and Patel conspired to murder the child and buried the body on the grounds of an industrial estate in Mankoli, Bhiwandi. According to the prosecution, Yadav married Virendra Kumar in 2016 and later eloped with Patel in November 2018. She returned to Bhiwandi, where she lived with Patel and Aryan. When Kumar became suspicious about the child’s disappearance and received no answers, he filed a complaint, leading to the exhumation of the body.
Defence lawyers Amit Icham and Chaitanya Purankar contended that the case relied entirely on circumstantial evidence and highlighted that Yadav had been in custody for over six years without significant trial progress. Despite the charges being framed in January 2019, no witnesses had been examined, and the prosecution planned to call 36 witnesses, which the defence argued could further delay the trial.
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The prosecution opposed the bail application, citing the gravity of the crime and the alleged motive. Additional Public Prosecutor Mayur Sonavane argued that the trial could be expedited, as witness summons had already been issued.
Justice Pitale, however, noted the lack of trial progress and, citing Supreme Court rulings, said that prolonged detention without trial violated the accused’s right to a speedy trial.
He remarked, “The seriousness of the allegations cannot justify indefinite detention without progress in the trial.”
