The husband of Twisha Sharma, a model who died in suspicious circumstances, is seeking anticipatory bail in a dowry harassment case, claiming cooperation with the investigation and denying the allegations.
After failing to get any relief from lower court, Samarth Singh, the absconding husband of Twisha Sharma who was allegedly harassed for dowry and died last week, has filed an anticipatory bail application in the Madhya Pradesh High Court claiming that his family was cooperating with the investigation team and that there was no need for custodial interrogation.
In a Miscellaneous Criminal Case (MCrC) filed before a single bench by his brother Siddharth Singh, the petitioner claimed that the entire prosecution story had been constructed and built "on imagination and presumptions" and that every substantial material had already been seized.
The applicant, who has been on the run ever since the case was registered by the Madhya Pradesh Police, claimed in his 69-page petition that he and his mother have been cooperating in the investigation till today.
The absconding accused moved the High Court after a magistrate court had earlier rejected his anticipatory bail application while granting it to his mother, Giribala Singh, a retired district sessions judge. She is also named in the FIR registered in the case.
Twisha Sharma was found hanging at her marital home in Bhopal's Katara Hills area on May 12. The family of the 33-year-old model turned actor accused her in-laws of pushing their daughter to death. The Singhs claim she was addicted to drugs.
Police registered an FIR under Sections 80(2), 85, and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita along with relevant sections of the Dowry Prohibition Act, naming Samarth Singh and Giribala Singh.
Police have announced a cash reward for information leading to Samarth Singh's arrest and also approached the court for the revocation of his passport.
In his application, the absconding accused claimed that the WhatsApp chats presented by the complainant are "edited and incomplete" and also alleged that the same had been tampered with, which cannot be relied upon. Samarth also annexed screenshots of payments sent to Twisha and claimed that charges of dowry harassment from her side are "very disappointing".
"The entire prosecution story being constructed and built is based on imagination and presumptions," the petitioner said.
The petition claimed that no custodial interrogation was required in the instant case and that he was a "respectable person" in society, having no prior criminal record and not a threat to society, therefore, would not pose any danger to law and order, if enlarged on bail.
The petition also said that they were ready to furnish adequate surety and shall abide by all the directions and conditions which may be imposed by the court.
Talking to PTI Videos in Jabalpur, lawyer Mrigendra Singh, who is representing the accused, claimed that Twisha lived with her husband and mother-in-law, and they shared cordial relations. He said minor arguments used to take place between the couple as they came from different family backgrounds and were newly married.
"We are going to file a writ petition for a CBI probe," he said.
He termed the police decision to announce a reward for Samarth Singh's arrest "wrong" and said such action without a court warrant defeats the purpose of anticipatory bail provisions.