Honour Killing Case: SC cancels bail of man co-accused of killing his brother in law

The Supreme Court on Monday cancelled the bail granted to the accused in an honour killing case where the husband was allegedly shot dead in front of his pregnant wife.

A Bench headed by Chief Justice of India NV Ramana while settings aside the order of the Rajasthan High Court which granted bail to the accused asked the accused to surrender.

"In the above background, the opinion passed by the High Court is not sustainable and is accordingly set aside. The bail granted is cancelled. We direct the Respondent to surrender before the district judge. Taking into nature of the offence, we allow the appeal," the bench said in its order.

A Kerala youth, Amit Nair was shot dead in 2017 allegedly at the instance of his in-laws for marrying Mamta, a Jaipur-based woman of another caste.

Mamta Nair, the wife of the deceased, has approached the apex court challenging the High Court's order of granting bail to her brother, who has been accused of conspiring to murder her husband. Her brother was released on bail in December last year.

Mamta said her brother Mukesh Choudhary after getting bail tried to intimidate her, directly and indirectly through relatives and others.

In 2017, Mamta's parents and two other men are stated to have barged into the couple's home in Rajasthan and shot her husband before attempting to drag her back to her parental house. Mamta was six months pregnant at that time.

After hearing the alarm raised by Mamta and her niece, the neighbours intervened and Mamta could not be taken away, said the plea.

The plot to kill her husband was hatched by her parents, and brother along with other co-conspirators hired to carry out the act, Mamta said in her appeal.

Senior Advocate Indira Jaising argued for Mamta in the top court that this court had earlier denied bail to Mukesh Choudhary.

Amit had studied civil engineering and started a construction business while Mamta is an LL.B graduate and had interned with an NGO.

Mamta had married Amit, who was the friend of her brother Mukesh, against the wishes of her parents in August 2015.

On May 17, 2017, the FIR was lodged by Amit's mother Rama Devi in Jaipur under sections 452 (house trespass), 302 (murder) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC.

( With inputs from ANI )