J&K High Court Grants Bail To Man Accused Of Shooting Wife, Notes That Crucial Eyewitnesses Including Son & Daughter Turned Hostile

The Jammu and Kashmir High Court has granted regular bail to a man accused of murdering his wife with a firearm, observing that the prosecution has failed to produce any clinching or credible evidence connecting him to the crime.

A bench of Justice Rajesh Sekhri allowed the bail application, holding that “in such cases of 'no evidence', courts are obliged to take a holistic view and exercise discretion in favour of liberty.”

The case relates to the alleged shooting death of the accused's wife, with the prosecution alleging that the man used a rifle to kill her. The court noted that during the trial, crucial eyewitnesses, including the couple's daughter and son, denied seeing the incident or implicated their father.

It also took note thay the daughter deposed that she was asleep and unaware of how the gunshot occurred, while the son retracted from his initial statement given to police, failing to support the prosecution in court.

The alleged seizure of the weapon also was brought into question. It said that the key witnesses to the seizure, including a police constable and a special police officer, stated they were unaware of the seizure details and merely signed documents prepared by the Investigating Officer.

It said that another prosecution witness, who was also listed as an eyewitness, turned hostile. Additionally, PW, a witness to the seizure, testified that no rifle or bullets were recovered in his presence and that his signatures were taken days later at the police station.

The court noted that 13 out of 20 witnesses had already been examined and none of them provided substantive evidence linking the accused to the offence, the Court concluded:

It observed that a cursory glance at the prosecution evidence shows that there is no evidence worthy of credence to implicate the applicant in the commission of the crime.

The court also criticized the trial court's approach, which refused regular bail while relying only on broad probabilities, rather than analyzing the actual evidentiary value of witness statements

The court allowed the bail directing the accused to furnish a personal bond of ₹1 lakh, attend all future hearings, and refrain from tampering with evidence or influencing witnesses.

BACKGROUND:

The applicant, an undertrial prisoner, was facing trial before the learned Principal Sessions Judge, Rajouri had earlier approached the trial court seeking regular bail, which came to be rejected by order.

Challenging the said order, the applicant has now filed the present bail application under Section 485 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, contending that the continued incarceration is not justified at this stage of the trial

Application stated that 10 out of 20 prosecution witnesses examined so far have not attributed any role to the applicant in the alleged crime, nor have they suggested his involvement in any manner in the commission of the offence.

APPEARANCE:

P. N. Raina, Sr. Advocate with Mr. J. A. Hamal, Advocate for Petitioners

Bhannu Jasrotia, GA for Respondent

Case-Title: Yashpaul Sharma Vs UT of J&K, 2025

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