The Bombay High Court has granted anticipatory bail to a woman accused in a fatal road rage incident, citing her recent childbirth and the absence of any prior criminal record.
Anam Ansari, along with her husband Ahmed Ansari, has been booked for allegedly assaulting a biker, Omprakash Sharma, during a road rage altercation in Mumbai’s Vakola area in March. The couple, who were on a motorbike, reportedly got into an argument with Sharma after he abruptly halted his vehicle in front of theirs. The confrontation escalated, with Anam allegedly hitting Sharma with a slipper, helmet, and her hands, while her husband is accused of striking him with a concrete paver block. Sharma succumbed to his injuries a few days later.
While Ahmed Ansari was arrested soon after the incident and remains in judicial custody, Anam, who was around 30 weeks pregnant at the time of the assault, had sought anticipatory bail. Her plea before the sessions court was rejected in April, prompting her to approach the High Court.
Her counsel, Advocate Shekhar Singh, argued that Anam had delivered a baby earlier this month and is currently the sole caregiver to the 25-day-old infant. He urged the court to consider her medical and personal circumstances.
The prosecution opposed the plea, asserting that although the paver block used in the attack had been recovered, the slipper and helmet allegedly used by the woman were yet to be seized. The state contended that the seriousness of the crime warranted her custodial interrogation.
However, a vacation bench of Justice Ashwin Bhobe disagreed. “Considering the nature of allegations against the applicant and the fact that she is now a mother of a 25-day-old baby and has no criminal antecedents, custodial interrogation would not be required,” the High Court observed in its order passed on Tuesday.
The Court also noted that Anam Ansari had not absconded after the incident and emphasized that her arrest was not necessary merely for the recovery of the alleged articles of assault.
With this ruling, Anam Ansari has been granted protection from arrest, while the trial and investigation continue.
