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Bail refused in dowry case

Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI: A Delhi court on Friday refused to grant anticipatory bail to a senior merchant navy executive in a dowry case saying that " there are serious allegations of cruelty against the applicant''.

The accused, V. Akshay Rathee, grandson of Param Vir Chakra winner Brigadier Hoshiyar Singh and employed with a Mumbai-based merchant navy company, Ocean Bulk Carrier, was earlier granted protection against arrest in November 2004 to allow him to settle the matter amicably

However, his mother, Deepa Rathee, and father, Wing Commander (retd.) B.S. Rathee, were arrested by the Defence Colony police in South Delhi. Later, they were released on bail by the court.

The talks between the two went on for months together on the amount of compensation to be paid by the accused to his estranged wife Prerna Rathee for the leftover articles.

Initially, Akshay Rathee had agreed to pay Rs. 14 lakhs to his wife. A few days later, he brought it down to Rs. 11 lakhs. Finally, he agreed to pay only Rs. 6 lakhs.

However, this amount was not acceptable to Prerna. Her counsel, R.S. Jhakhar, submitted that ornaments worth Rs. 16 lakhs were to be recovered from the residence of Akshay Rathee.

Counsel for Akshay Rathee also remained stuck to the offer made by his client saying that he was unable to pay more than 6 lakhs.

Noting that the accused had earlier agreed to pay Rs. 11 lakhs to his former wife, the Additional Sessions Judge, Lal Singh, observed: " Since the matter has been prolonging for long in this manner, the approach of the applicant did not appear to be bona fide.''

Withdrawing the protection against arrest and then dismissing his bail application, the Judge said: "In this manner, he is avoiding arrest.''

Meanwhile, Prerna's brother Ranjit Singh lodged a criminal complaint against Brig. Rathee alleging that he was assaulted by the latter during a meeting for an out-of-court settlement.

In her complaint, Prerna, alleged that "it appeared that my husband and his parents brought the marriage proposal to his parents with a pre-planned conspiracy to acquire more and more dowry.''

The couple were married at Army Cantonment here in January 2004 according to Hindu rites and customs.

Just nine months after the wedding, Prerna lodged the complaint against his husband under Section 498A (subjecting a married woman to cruelty) and 406 (criminal breach of trust) of Indian Penal Code.

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