Prayagraj, July 07: The Allahabad High Court has granted bail to former Indian Information Service (IIS) officer Nitin Nath Singh in the case of murdering his lawyer wife. The former officer is accused of killing his wife Renu Sinha (a lawyer by profession) in 2023 and then allegedly hiding in the storeroom of his house in Noida to avoid arrest.
Granting him bail, a bench of Justice Siddhartha said that he is a senior citizen and not a hardened criminal who can pose any threat to the security of society. The court also took into account that he has sufficient property and there is no danger of him fleeing.
According to the case, in September 2023, 64-year-old Singh allegedly strangled his wife to death after a heated argument over selling his two-storey house in Noida. During the investigation, Singh was arrested from inside the store room of the first floor of the house, where he was found hiding with cigarettes and a water bottle.
Seeking bail, the counsel for the applicant argued that there was a delay of about 8 hours in lodging the FIR. The reason for this was not explained by the informant, Ajay Kumar, who is also the brother of the deceased. It was further argued that there was pressure from the informant’s side to transfer the self-owned house of the applicant in his favour. However, the applicant and his wife (deceased) had finalised the sale of the house for Rs 4.5 crore and received Rs 55 lakh as earnest money.
Thus, it was argued that there was every possibility of the informant’s complicity in the incident. In the absence of the applicant, the house was looked after by the informant. He had a set of keys. Lastly, it was argued that the applicant has been in jail since September 11, 2023. The chargesheet was filed on October 14, 2023.
On the other hand, opposing the bail, the counsel for the informant and the public prosecutor argued that the CCTV footage collected from the neighbouring house showed that the applicant did not leave the premises on the day of the incident, which corroborates the claim that he was present in the house at the time of the crime. It was also argued that he did not have a cordial relationship with his wife.
The court granted him bail without expressing any opinion on the merits and noting that the chargesheet has already been filed and cognizance has been taken.