The Jharkhand High Court has granted bail to a woman accused of killing her mother-in-law by force-feeding her a poisoned samosa last year. Justice Anil Kumar Choudhary presided over the hearing for the accused, who has been in judicial custody since August 21, 2025.
As a condition for her release, the High Court directed the woman to cooperate fully with the ongoing trial. She must submit her mobile phone number, a photocopy of her Aadhaar card, and a formal undertaking promising not to change her phone number during the proceedings. Additionally, the court ordered her not to annoy or disturb the complainant—her father-in-law—or any other witnesses.
Forensic Analysis Still Pending
Defense counsel Amit Kumar argued for the woman’s release, asserting that the allegations against his client were entirely false. He pointed out that she had already spent nearly a year in custody while the final forensic opinion regarding the cause of death is still awaited from the forensic science laboratory. Kumar also noted that the initial post-mortem examination report did not show any indications of poisoning.
Timeline Of The Alleged Incident
The case dates back to May 2025 in the Khunti district of Jharkhand. According to the police First Information Report (FIR), the accused allegedly forced her mother-in-law to eat a poisoned samosa at around 8:00 PM on May 21, 2025.
The victim began vomiting after going to bed, prompting her husband to suspect foul play. The next morning, the victim lost consciousness and was taken to a community health centre, where she died at approximately 4:00 PM on May 22, 2025.
Due to a reported lack of legal awareness, the family initially took the victim’s body back to their residence before approaching local police to file a complaint on May 23, 2025. Following the complaint, police booked the daughter-in-law under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, on charges of murder and causing hurt by poison.
History Of Domestic Disputes
According to police reports, the accused and her mother-in-law had been involved in domestic disputes and frequent arguments for several months prior to the incident.
The accused has maintained her innocence, arguing that her mother-in-law died of natural causes and that the family leveraged a domestic dispute to falsely frame her for poisoning.
Her previous legal bids had been unsuccessful. A sessions court rejected her anticipatory bail application on August 4, 2025, pointing to the gravity and seriousness of the charges. A subsequent regular bail plea was also dismissed by a trial court, which ruled that her involvement in the alleged crime could not be ruled out.
