New Delhi: Refusing bail to a man accused of murdering his wife, who died after spending 13 months in a vegetative state following an alleged assault, a Delhi court held that his continued custody was necessary as seven doctors are yet to testify and there is a possibility that, if released, he could influence witnesses and tamper with evidence.Additional Sessions Judge Shivali Bansal rejected the bail plea of Sanjeev Yadav, who sought relief on the grounds that he had been in custody for three years, eight months and 11 days, was a UPSC aspirant and had clean antecedents.The defence argued that no case of premeditated or intentional murder could be made out from the material on record and contended that continued incarceration was unwarranted, particularly when 12 of the 39 prosecution witnesses had already been examined. However, the court attached greater significance to the pending medical evidence.“The testimonies of the doctors will be fatal to the case because the facts and circumstances of the present case are peculiar as the victim did not die immediately after the assault but she had died after 13 months of the physical assault, which means that the testimonies of the doctors will throw light upon the immediate, direct and proximate cause of death of the victim,” the court observed.Judge Bansal noted the prosecution’s submission that seven doctors are yet to be examined and accepted its apprehension that the applicant, if enlarged on bail, could contact or influence witnesses.“The testimonies of the doctors are relevant for ascertaining that there is no break in the chain of causation, and it was the act of the applicant, which ultimately led to the death of the victim,” the court noted.According to the prosecution, the incident occurred in Sept 2022 when Yadav allegedly visited the maternal home of his wife, Shweta. During an interaction inside a room, Shweta’s mother allegedly heard her daughter crying for help. When family members and neighbours forced open the door, they found her unconscious and bleeding from the mouth.Shweta was taken to the hospital, where doctors declared her injuries “dangerous” and found her unfit to give a statement. She allegedly remained in a vegetative state for about 13 months before succumbing on Oct 21, 2023. Medically, the cause of death was opined to be “septicaemia secondary to pre-existing brain trauma”, and doctors concluded the manner of death as “homicidal”.