Except statement of complainant, there is nothing to show it’s a homicidal death: Court

While observing that except a statement of the complainant, there is nothing on record which could show that it is a homicidal death, a local court has granted bail to an accused arrested on the basis of an FIR registered on the charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

The court stated: “Since the investigation has already been completed and it is a case of natural death, no useful purpose will be served by detaining the applicant in custody for an indefinite period.”

An FIR was registered on the basis of a complaint filed by one Ajay Mittal on August 21, 2025, under Section 105 of the BNS, 2023, at the Sector 36 police station, Chandigarh. Ajay told the police that he, along with his mother Santosh and his uncle Ashok Mittal, lived in a house in Sector 36, Chandigarh.

His uncle had 50 per cent share in the house that was to be put on sale. Being a co-sharer, Ajay wanted to live in the house for few months. On August 20, 2025, his uncle Ashok Mittal manhandled and assaulted his mother. At that time, he was away to Sector 35 for some work. When Ajay returned, he found his mother unconscious. A police vehicle rushed his mother to a hospital where she was declared brought dead.

The complainant maintained that his uncle and his wife, both were responsible for his mother’s death. During the course of investigation, Ashok Mittal was arrested on August 21, 2025. Harish Bhardwaj, counsel for the accused, argued that the post-mortem report of the deceased does not show any external mark of an injury. Viscera and other part of the deceased were sent to the CFSL, Chandigarh. After perusing the CFSL report, the doctor opined that the cause of death in this case could be acute coronary insufficiency in pre-existing case of chronic ischaemic heart disease, a natural cause. Since the cause of death in this case was natural, so, no useful purpose would be served by detaining the applicant in further custody.

However, the public prosecutor argued that the applicant had committed a serious offence of culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

After hearing arguments both sides, the court stated that the post-mortem report of deceased does not reveal any mark of external injury. The court stated: “It is a case, where there is no eyewitness as the complainant found her mother unconscious on his return from Sector 35, Chandigarh. The doctor, who conducted post-mortem, opines that the cause of death in this case could be acute coronary insufficiency in pre-existing case of chronic ischaemic heart disease, a natural cause. At this stage, except complainant’s statement, there is nothing on record which could show that it is a homicidal death. Since the investigation has already been completed and it is a case of natural death, no useful purpose will be served by detaining the applicant in custody for an indefinite period. Keeping in view the custody period of the applicant and without commenting on the merits of the case, his bail application is allowed.”