The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court today granted bail to Madhumani Tripathi, one of the main accused in the murder of poetess Madhumita Shukla.

Justice N K Mehrotra today ordered Madhumani's release on bail after she furnished two sureties and a personal bond. The court directed Madhumani not to leave the country or the state without prior permission of the concerned trial court and asked her to submit her passport, if she has one, to the concerned magistrate.

Madhumani Tripathi, wife of former minister Amarmani Tripathi, the prime accused in the murder case, had surrendered before the special judicial magistrate, Central Bureau of Investigation, Lucknow, in March. Non-bailable warrants had been served on her after she absconded for a long time.

Amarmani Tripathi and another accused, Inspector Yagya Narain Dixit, have already been released on bail while three other accused -- Rohit Chaturvedi, Prakash Chand Pandey, and Santosh Rai -- are in jail.

Madhumita Shukla was murdered at her paper mill colony residence in Lucknow on May 9, 2003.

Madhumani's counsel argued that conspiracy charges against her were not clear and the prosecution has so far failed to prove any concrete charges against her. It was also argued that the co-accused and her husband, Amarmani Tripathi, have already been released by the court.

The CBI counsel, on the other hand, opposed the bail plea on the grounds that sufficient evidence against Madhumani has been collected to substantiate the prosecution's case.

More reports from Uttar Pradesh