New Delhi
The Delhi High Court has observed that directing police to monitor an accused’s wife amounted to an “unacceptable invasion” of the privacy of a person not named in the case.
In an order dated March 20, Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani upheld the interim bail granted by a trial court to a man who had sought temporary release to care for his wife during her surgery and post-operative recovery, but set aside the court’s conditions requiring police to file a report on the accused’s wife.
The trial court, in its interim order of March 13, directed the investigating officer (IO) to submit a report on the family members of the accused’s wife who had visited her, and ordered that a woman police officer be deputed to stay with her.
The trial court had further directed the IO to submit a report on the circumstances in the accused’s wife’s house, including photographs and statements from three neighbours regarding her lifestyle. It also ordered the collection of call detail records of both the accused and his wife, along with a report on the persons they had contacted.
