Supreme Court grants bail to man in Bengaluru family 'suicide pact' case

The alleged suicide pact resulted in the death of his wife, two daughters and a son, along with a nine-month-old in September 2021 in Bengaluru

The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted bail to Hallagere Shankar, editor of a Kannada newspaper in a sensational case of alleged suicide pact which resulted in the death of his wife, two daughters and a son, along with a nine-month-old in September 2021 in Bengaluru.

A bench of Justices Dinesh Maheshwari and Sanjay Kumar allowed the petitioner's appeal against the Karnataka High Court's order rejecting the bail application on May 19, 2022.

Also Read — Behind suicide pact, a broken family and endless fights

Senior advocate A N Venugopala Gowda, along with advocate Balaji Srinivasan, appearing for the petitioner, pointed out that two other accused who are his son-in-laws had already been granted bail.

The special leave petition had contended that the High Court rejected the bail petition without adverting any just or proper reasons.

The police had filed a charge sheet in the matter invoking Section 306 (abetment of suicide) against Shankar and two son-in-laws.

Shankar was arrested in the case on October 1, 2021 in the case lodged at Byadarahalli Police Station in Bengaluru.

The petitioner, for his part, had blamed his wife Bharthi, 51, as the root cause for endless dispute in his family.

Shankar’s wife, daughters -- Sinchana, 34, Sindhurani, 31, -- and son Madhusagar, 25, were found hanging in the family’s home in Thigalarapalya, off Magadi Road. Sindhurani’s nine-month-old boy was found dead on a bed, apparently starved to death. Sinchana’s two-and-a-half-year-old daughter was rescued from a state of near-starvation.