Mumbai: In a major setback to the six woman officers of the Byculla prison, the Bombay High Court on Monday turned down their application seeking bail. The women are in jail for the last two years now for their alleged roles in assaulting and then killing an inmate Manjula Shetye in 2017.
A bench of Justice Revati Mohite-Dere rejected their bail applications on the ground that they can tamper with the evidence and can also influence the witnesses, who are presently being examined by the special court.
The special court has charged the six accused with criminal conspiracy, murder, criminal intimidation and destruction of evidence.
The accused — Jailer Manisha Pokharkar and constables — Bindu Naikade, Waseema Shaikh, Shital Shegaonkar, Surekha Gulve and Aarti Shingne, had petitioned the bench of Justice Mohite-Dere seeking bail.
They argued that it has been more than two years that they are languishing behind the bars. They also offered to file an undertaking that they would abide by the conditions, if any, the bench would impose.
The prosecution vehemently opposed the bail applications arguing that since the accused are police officers, they can easily tamper with the evidence or can even hamper the trial by influencing or threatening witnesses. The bench of Justice Mohite-Dere accepted the prosecution arguments and rejected the applications.
