SC cancels bail of man accused of hatching conspiracy to kill wife for insurance money

The Supreme Court on Tuesday cancelled bail of a man accused of hatching a conspiracy for killing his wife in a road accident to claim insurance money of Rs 60 lakh in December 2020.

A bench of Justices M R Shah and Sanjiv Khanna quashed the Gujarat High Court's order, saying the order allowing release of accused Lalitbhai Ganpatji Tank was not sustainable in law as well as facts.

The top court said the High Court has not at all considered the material or evidence collected during the course of the investigation like the call details records of the husband with other co-accused and simply observed that it was a case of circumstantial evidence.

"Merely because the prosecution case rests on circumstantial evidence cannot be a ground to release the accused on bail, if during the course of the investigation the evidence/material has been collected and prima facie the complete chain of events is established," the bench said.

The court also pointed out the High Court had noted that the accused had deep roots in society. "In a case of hatching conspiracy to kill his wife and looking to the seriousness of the offence, this can hardly be a ground to release the accused on bail," the top court added.

It also relied upon the police charge sheet which revealed that the accused took the accidental insurance policy jointly with his wife on September 29, 2020, of Rs 60 lakhs.

On December 26, 2020 at 7:00 am, he took his wife to Hanumanji Temple within limit of Bhildi police station in Banaskantha on foot and as he got the chance in the way, he made phone call to the co-accused Kirtikumar Kanaji to finalise the plan. Kanaji made phone call to another co-accused Mahesh (driver of the Swift Car) and thereafter the co-accused Mahesh hit the deceased Daxaben by the said car and committed murder from the back side so as to make it look as an accidental death.

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