Bail in 99.6% of dowry death cases: Allahabad High Court judge faces scrutiny after Supreme Court criticism An Allahabad High Court judge granted bail in nearly all dowry death cases heard by his bench over three months in 2025, according to a report by The Indian Express. Justice Pankaj Bhatia issued bail in 508 of 510 cases, representing 99.61% of the total, under Section 304B of the Indian Penal Code and other relevant provisions. The decision drew sharp criticism from the Supreme Court, which called one of the bail orders “most shocking and disappointing.” The Supreme Court’s intervention followed a February 9 ruling by a bench led by Justices J B Pardiwala and K V Vishwanathan, which overturned Bhatia’s order. The court expressed confusion over the reasoning behind the bail grant, emphasizing that the High Court should have considered the severity of the crime, the prescribed punishment, the relationship between the accused and the deceased, and medical evidence. The court canceled the bail in the specific case and directed the accused to surrender. The case in question involved the death of 28-year-old Sushma Devi from Shrawasti district, whose body was found on her matrimonial home’s verandah less than two months after her wedding. Her father alleged that the groom’s family demanded a car after the wedding, despite a cash gift of Rs 3.5 lakh. A Sessions Court had previously denied bail, citing postmortem findings of “asphyxia due to antemortem strangulation” and injuries on the victim’s neck. The report highlighted inconsistencies in Bhatia’s bail orders, noting that the structure and language of the decisions, as well as the bond amounts, were largely uniform across cases, despite varying circumstances.#supreme_court #allahabad_high_court #pankaj_bhatia #sushma_devi #shrawasti_district
Allahabad High Court Judge Faces Criticism Over High Bail Rate in Dowry Death Cases A recent analysis of bail orders issued by Justice Pankaj Bhatia of the Allahabad High Court has revealed that he granted bail in 99.6% of dowry death cases heard by his bench between October and December 2025. The Supreme Court criticized the judge’s approach, calling one of his bail orders “most shocking and disappointing,” and ordered the cancellation of the bail in a specific case. The analysis by The Indian Express examined 510 publicly available bail orders in dowry death cases, with Justice Bhatia granting bail in 508 of them. The structure, language, and bond amounts in the orders were consistent across cases, despite varying circumstances of the incidents. The Supreme Court noted that the high court’s reasoning failed to address the gravity of the crime, as dowry death cases involve severe charges under Section 304 B of the Indian Penal Code and Section 80 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam. In the case that drew the Supreme Court’s attention, the victim, Sushma Devi, died less than two months after her marriage. Her father claimed the groom’s family had demanded a car after the wedding, and the postmortem report indicated asphyxia due to antemortem strangulation. The Sessions Court had initially denied bail, citing the nature of the crime. However, Justice Bhatia’s order was overturned, with the Supreme Court emphasizing the need for courts to consider the relationship between the accused and the deceased, the location of the incident, and medical evidence. Justice Bhatia requested the Chief Justice to remove him from the bail roster, stating the Supreme Court’s remarks had a “huge demoralising and chilling effect” on him. He did not respond to attempts by The Indian Express to contact him.#supreme_court #allahabad_high_court #pankaj_bhatia #sushma_devi #dowry_death_cases
