Himachal Pradesh High Court
State Of H.P vs Chuni Lal And Others on 27 May, 2016
Bench: Sanjay Karol, Ajay Mohan Goel
IN THE HIGH COURT OF HIMACHAL PRADESH, SHIMLA Criminal Appeal No.285 of 2009 Reserved on : 17.5.2016 .
Date of Decision : May 27, 2016
State of H.P. ...Appellant.
Versus
Chuni Lal and others ...Respondents.
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Coram:
The Hon'ble Mr. Justice Sanjay Karol, Judge. The Hon'ble Mr. Justice Ajay Mohan Goel, Judge.
rt Whether approved for reporting? Yes. 1 For the Appellant : Mr. V.S. Chauhan, Addl.A.G and Mr. J.S. Guleria, Asstt. A.G. For the Respondents : Mr. Ajay Sharma, Advocate.
Sanjay Karol, Judge State has appealed against the judgment dated 30.10.2008, passed by learned Additional Sessions Judge(II), Kangra at Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh, in Sessions Case No.11-N/VII/2006 (Sessions Trial No.7/2008), titled as State v. Chuni Lal & others, challenging the acquittal of respondents Chuni Lal, Rakesh Kumar & Smt. Pushpa Devi (hereinafter referred to as the accused), who stand charged for having Whether reporters of the local papers may be allowed to see the judgment?
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committed offences, punishable under the provisions of Sections 498-A & 306, both read with Section 34 of the .
2. It is the case of prosecution that in the month of August, 2002, deceased Smt. Renu Bala was married to accused Rakesh Kumar, as per Hindu customary rites.
Accused Rakesh Kumar is the husband, Chuni Lal is the of father-in-law and Pushpa Devi is the mother-in-law of the deceased. After the marriage, all of them started rt harassing the deceased, who was tortured, subjected to physical and mental cruelty; and their dowry demands further came to be a source of constant harassment and cruelty to her. The deceased brought such acts to the notice of her parents as also Gorkhu Ram (PW-2), who mediated in getting the marriage solemnized. Last such grievance was made on 4.11.2004, i.e. immediately prior to the incident. As a result of such atrocities, on 5.11.2004, Renu Bala committed suicide by consuming poison. Police received such information and recorded entry (Ex.PW-6/A). SI Kamaljit Singh (PW-10), after visiting the spot, recorded statement (Ex.PW-6/C) of Smt. Kushla Devi (PW-8), which led to registration of FIR No.351/04, dated 5.11.2004 (Ex.PW-6/B), for commission ::: Downloaded on - 15/04/2017 20:27:33 :::HCHP ...3...
of offences, punishable under the provisions of Sections 498-A and 306 of the Indian Penal Code, at Police Station .
Nurpur, District Kangra, Himachal Pradesh. Inquest report (Ex.PW-5/B & 5/C) was prepared and the dead body sent for postmortem, which was conducted by Dr. M.K. Sexena (PW-5), who issued postmortem report (Ex.PW-5/D). Investigation revealed complicity of all the of accused in the alleged crime. Hence, challan was presented in the Court for trial.
rt
3. Accused were charged for having committed offences punishable under the provisions of Sections 498- A & 306, both read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code, to which they did not plead guilty and claimed trial.
4. In order to establish its case, prosecution examined as many as ten witnesses and statements of the accused, under the provisions of Section 313 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, were also recorded, in which they took defence of innocence and false implication.
5. Based on the testimonies of witnesses and the material on record, trial Court acquitted all the accused persons of the charged offences, primarily on the grounds that (a) testimonies of the interested witnesses, who were inimical towards the accused, could ::: Downloaded on - 15/04/2017 20:27:33 :::HCHP ...4...
not be relied upon, (b) the incident of 4.11.2004 never came to be reported to anyone, (c) allegation of dowry .
demand, in the nature of scooter, cash and golden chain, was never reported to the police, and (d) in any event, allegations of dowry demand being vague, there was no evidence of abetment of suicide. Hence, the present appeal by the State.
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6. Having heard learned counsel for the parties as also perused the record, we are of the considered view rt that the trial Court seriously erred in not correctly and completely appreciating the testimonies of the witnesses.
It further erred in ignoring the relevant statutory provisions and the law laid down by the apex Court.
Findings are, thus, perverse and illegal. It has resulted into travesty of justice.
7. That in August, 2002, accused Rakesh Kumar got married to deceased Renu Bala cannot be disputed, which fact, in any event, stands clearly established through the unrebutted testimony of the mother of the deceased Smt. Kushla Devi (PW-8) and her father Jagdish Chand (PW-3). Such marriage came to be solemnized through the mediation of Gorkh Ram (PW-2) also cannot be disputed.
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8. That deceased expired on 5.11.2004, is also not in dispute. From the testimony of SI Kamaljit Singh .
(PW-10), it is evident that when the factum of such death was brought to the notice, police acted with promptitude, by visiting the spot and conducting investigation, which is fair and proper. Inquest report (Ex.PW-5/B & 5/C) reveals that the dead body was found in the matrimonial house, of owned by accused Chuni Lal. Undisputedly, the accused and the deceased used to jointly reside there. Outside rt the house, one empty bottle was taken into possession by the police vide memo (Ex.PW-2/A). As per report of the Forensic Science Laboratory (Ex. PW-10/C), contents of endosulfan (pesticide), a poisonous substance, were found therein.
9. Postmortem of the dead body was conducted by Dr. M.K. Sexena (Pw-5), who, on the basis of the report of the Chemical Analyst, opined the death to have taken place due to organo chloro compound.
10. The deceased died as a result of consumption of poison, thus, evidently stands established on record.
11. It is not a case of murder and the accused stand charged for having committed offences, punishable under the provisions of Sections 498-A & 306, both read ::: Downloaded on - 15/04/2017 20:27:33 :::HCHP ...6...
with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code. To establish the same, prosecution has to prove that the accused, .
being the husband and his relatives, subjected the deceased to cruelty.
12. "Cruelty" for the purpose of the crime in question would mean, willful conduct of the accused, which is of such a nature as is likely to drive the of deceased to commit suicide or harassment with a view to coerce her to meet any unlawful demand of property or rt valuable security. Also, harassment on account of failure to meet such demand would also amount to cruelty. If the prosecution is able to show that suicide was committed within a period of seven years from the date of marriage, as a result of cruelty, the law by virtue of Section 113A of the Evidence Act, mandates the Court to presume that such act of suicide came to be abetted by her husband or his relatives. Also, for proving the charge of abetment to suicide, it has to be proved that the accused treated the deceased with cruelty and drove her to commit suicide.
13. In Ramesh Kumar vs. State of Chhattisgarh, (2001) 9 SCC 618, the Apex Court has also held that "Sections 498-A and 306 IPC are independent and ::: Downloaded on - 15/04/2017 20:27:33 :::HCHP ...7...
constitute different offences. Though, depending on the facts and circumstances of an individual case, subjecting .
a woman to cruelty may amount to an offence under section 498-A and may also, if a course of conduct, amounting to cruelty is established leaving no other option for the woman except to commit suicide, amount to abetment to commit suicide. However, merely because of an accused has been held liable to be punished under section 498-A IPC it does not follow that on the same rt evidence he must also and necessarily be held guilty of having abetted the commission of suicide by the woman concerned."
14. In Sushil Kumar Sharma. Vs. Union of India & Ors. (2005) 6 SCC 281, the Apex Court has held as under:
"10. The object for which Section 498-A IPC was introduced is amply reflected in the Statement of Objects and Reasons while enacting the Criminal Law (Second Amendment) Act 46 of 1983. As clearly stated therein the increase in the number of dowry deaths is a matter of serious concern. The extent of the evil has been commented upon by the Joint Committee of the Houses to examine the work of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961. In some cases, cruelty of the husband and the relatives of the husband which culminate in suicide by or murder of the helpless woman concerned, constitute only a small fraction involving such cruelty.::: Downloaded on - 15/04/2017 20:27:33 :::HCHP
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Therefore, it was proposed to amend IPC, the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (in short "CrPC") and the Evidence Act suitably to deal effectively not only with cases of dowry .
deaths but also cases of cruelty to married women by the husband, in-laws and relatives. The avowed object is to combat the menace of dowry death and cruelty.
11. One other provision which is relevant to be noted is Section 306 IPC. The basic difference between the two sections i.e. Section 306 and Section 498-A is that of of intention. Under the latter, cruelty committed by the husband or his relations drag the woman concerned to commit suicide, while under the former provision suicide is abetted rt and intended.
19. The object of the provision is prevention of the dowry menace. But as has been rightly contended by the petitioner many instances have come to light where the complaints are not bona fide and have been filed with oblique motive. In such cases acquittal of the accused does not in all cases wipe out the ignominy suffered during and prior to trial. Sometimes adverse media coverage adds to the misery. The question, therefore, is what remedial measures can be taken to prevent abuse of the well-intentioned provision. Merely because the provision is constitutional and intra vires, does not give a licence to unscrupulous persons to wreak personal vendetta or unleash harassment. It may, therefore, become necessary for the legislature to find out ways how the makers of frivolous complaints or allegations can be appropriately dealt with. Till then the courts have to take care of the situation within the existing framework. As noted above the object is to strike at the roots of dowry menace. But by misuse of the provision a new legal terrorism can be unleashed. The provision is intended to be used as a shield and not as an assassin's ::: Downloaded on - 15/04/2017 20:27:33 :::HCHP ...9...
weapon. If the cry of "wolf is made too often as a prank, assistance and protection may not be available when the actual "wolf appears. There is no question of the investigating .
agency and courts casually dealing with the allegations. They cannot follow any straitjacket formula in the matters relating to dowry tortures, deaths and cruelty. It cannot be lost sight of that the ultimate objective of every legal system is to arrive at the truth, punish the guilty and protect the innocent. There is no scope for any preconceived notion or view. It is strenuously argued by the of petitioner that the investigating agencies and the courts start with the presumptions that the accused persons are guilty and that the rtcomplainant is speaking the truth. This is too wide and generalised a statement. Certain statutory presumptions are drawn which again are rebuttable. It is to be noted that the role of the investigating agencies and the courts is that of a watchdog and not of a bloodhound. It should be their effort to see that an innocent person is not made to suffer on account of unfounded, baseless and malicious allegations. It is equally undisputable that in many cases no direct evidence is available and the courts have to act on circumstantial evidence. While dealing with such cases, the law laid down relating to circumstantial evidence has to be kept in view."
15. In State of West Bengal Vs. Orilal Jaiswal (1994) 1 SCC 73, the Apex Court has held as under:
"In a criminal trial the degree of proof is stricter than what is required in a civil proceedings. In a criminal trial however intriguing may be facts and circumstances of the case, the charges made against the accused must be proved beyond all reasonable doubts and the requirement of proof cannot lie in the realm of surmises and conjectures. The requirement of proof beyond ::: Downloaded on - 15/04/2017 20:27:33 :::HCHP ...10...
reasonable doubt does not stand altered even after the introduction of S. 498A, I.P.C and S. 113A of Indian Evidence Act. Although, the court's conscience must be satisfied that the .
accused is not held guilty when there are reasonable doubts about the complicity of the accused in respect of the offences alleged, it should be borne in mind that there is no absolute standard for proof in a criminal trial and the question whether the charges made against the accused have been proved beyond all reasonable doubts must depend upon the facts and circumstances of the case of and the quality of the evidences adduced in the case and the materials placed on record. The doubt must be of a reasonable man and rt the standard adopted must be a standard adopted by a reasonable and just man for coming to a conclusion considering the particular subject matter.
The conscience of the court can never be bound by any rule but that is coming itself dictates the consciousness and prudent exercise of the judgment. Reasonable doubt is simply that degree of doubt which would permit a reasonable and just man to come to a conclusion. Reasonableness of the doubt must be commensurate with the nature of the offence to be investigated. Exaggerated devotion to the rule of benefit of doubt must not nurture fanciful doubts or lingering suspicions and thereby destroy social defence. Justice cannot be made sterile on the plea that it is better to let hundred guilty escape than punish an innocent. Letting guilty escape is not doing justice, according to law."
(Emphasis supplied)
16. The Apex Court further cautioned that the court should be extremely careful in assessing the facts and circumstances of each case and the evidence ::: Downloaded on - 15/04/2017 20:27:33 :::HCHP ...11...
adduced in the trial for the purpose of finding whether the cruelty meted out to the victim had in fact induced .
her to end the life by committing suicide. If it transpires to the court that a victim committing suicide was hypersensitive to ordinary petulance, discord and differences in domestic life quite common to the society to which the victim belonged and such petulance, discord of and differences were not expected to induce a similarly circumstanced individual in a given society to commit rt suicide, the conscience of the court should not be satisfied for basing a finding that the accused charged of abetting the offence of suicide should be found guilty.
17. In Arun Vyas & anr. Vs. Anita Vyas (1999) 4 SCC 690, the Apex Court has held that the essence of offence in Section 498-A is cruelty. It is a continuing offence and on each occasion on which the wife is subjected to cruelty, she would have a new starting point of limitation.
18. In Kundula Bala Subrahmanyam and Anr. Vs. State of Andhra Pradesh (1993) 2 SCC 684, the Apex Court has held as under:-
"The role of courts, under the circumstances assumes greater importance and it is expected that the courts would deal ::: Downloaded on - 15/04/2017 20:27:33 :::HCHP ...12...
with such cases in a more realistic manner and not allow the criminals to escape on account of procedural technicalities or insignificant lacune in the evidence as .
otherwise the criminals would receive encouragement and the victims of crime would be totally discouraged by the crime going unpunished. The courts are expected to be sensitive in cases involving crime against women."
19. Whether one spouse has been guilty of of cruelty to the other is essentially a question of fact. The impact of complaints, accusations or taunts on a person rt amounting to cruelty depends on various factors like the sensitivity of the individual victim concerned, the social background, the environment, education etc. Further, mental cruelty varies from person to person depending on the intensity of sensitivity and the degree of courage or endurance to withstand such mental cruelty. In other words, each case has to be decided on its own facts to decide whether the mental cruelty was established or not. [Mohd. Hoshan A.P. & Anrs. Vs. State of A.P. (2002) 7 SCC 414].
20. In State of A.P. Vs. M. Madhusudhan Rao (2008) 15 SCC 582, the Apex Court has held as under:
"It is plain that as per clause (b) of the Explanation, which, according to learned counsel for the State, is attracted in the instant case, every harassment does not ::: Downloaded on - 15/04/2017 20:27:33 :::HCHP ...13...
amount to "cruelty" within the meaning of Section 498-A I.P.C. The definition stipulates that the harassment has to be with a definite object of coercing the woman or any person .
related to her to meet an unlawful demand. In other words, for the purpose of Section 498-A I.P.C. harassment simpliciter is not "cruelty"
and it is only when harassment is committed for the purpose of coercing a woman or any other person related to her to meet an unlawful demand for property etc., that it amounts to "cruelty" punishable under Section 498-A I.P.C."
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21. In Balram Prasad Agrawal Vs. State of Bihar & Ors. (1997) 9 SCC 338, the Apex Court has held rt cruelty to mean torture to be so unbearable in the common course of human conduct that a young lady having commitments to life could take a drastic steps to end her life leaving behind her infant children in the lurch and at the mercy of the accused husband who was found to be in contemplation of remarrying.
22. In Arvind Singh Vs. State of Bihar (2001) 6 SCC 407, the Apex Court has held as under:-
"The word 'cruelty' in common English acceptation denotes a state of conduct which is painful and distressing to another. The legislative intent in Section 498-A is clear enough to indicate that in the event of there being a state of conduct by the husband to the wife or by any relative of the husband which can be attributed to be painful or distressing. The same would be within the meaning of the section. Torture is a question ::: Downloaded on - 15/04/2017 20:27:33 :::HCHP ...14...
of fact. There must be a proper effort to prove it."
23. Instigation is to goad, urge forward, provoke, .
incite or encourage to do "an act". To satisfy the requirement of instigation though it is not necessary that actual words must be used to that effect or what constitutes instigation must necessarily and specifically of be suggestive of the consequence. Yet a reasonable certainty to incite the consequence must be capable of rt being spelt out. The accused must by his acts or omission or by a continued course of conduct create such circumstances that the deceased is left with no other option except to commit suicide in which case an instigation may have been inferred. A word uttered in the fit of anger or emotion without intending the consequences to actually follow cannot be said to be instigation. [Ramesh Kumar vs. State of Chhatisgarh, (2001) 9 SCC 618]
24. The concept of cruelty and its effect varies from individual to individual, also depending upon the social and economic status to which such person belongs.
"Cruelty" for the purposes of constituting the offence under the aforesaid section need not be physical. Even ::: Downloaded on - 15/04/2017 20:27:33 :::HCHP ...15...
mental torture or abnormal behaviour may amount to cruelty and harassment in a given case. [Gananath .
Pattnaik vs. State of Orissa, (2002) 2 SCC 619]
25. The Apex Court in Naresh Kumar v. State of Haryana and others, (2015) 1 SCC 797, has observed that "as regards the claim for parity of the case of the Appellant with his mother and brother who have been of acquitted, the High Court has rightly found his case to be distinguishable from the case of his mother and brother.
rt The husband is not only primarily responsible for safety of his wife, he is expected to be conversant with her state of mind more than any other relative. If the wife commits suicide by setting herself on fire, proceeded by dissatisfaction of the husband and his family from the dowry, the interference of harassment against the husband may be patent. Responsibility of the husband towards his wife is qualitatively different and higher as against his other relatives".
26. With regard to dowry death, the Apex Court in Baljinder Kaur v. State of Punjab, (2015) 2 SCC 629, held that:
"21. In our view, there is force in the submission of the learned counsel for the appellant. In cases related to dowry death, ::: Downloaded on - 15/04/2017 20:27:33 :::HCHP ...16...
the circumstances showing the cruelty or harassment are not restricted to a particular instance, but normally refer to a course of conduct. Such conduct of cruelty or dowry .
harassment must be "soon before death".
There should be a perceptible nexus between her death and the dowry related harassment or cruelty inflicted on her."
27. The Apex Court in Rajinder Singh v. State of Punjab, (2015) 6 SCC 477, in the following words, of explained the meaning of "dowry", as under:
"8. A perusal of this Section shows that this rtdefinition can be broken into six distinct parts:
(1) Dowry must first consist of any property or valuable security - the word "any" is a word of width and would, therefore, include within it property and valuable security of any kind whatsoever.
(2) Such property or security can be given or even agreed to be given. The actual giving of such property or security is, therefore, not necessary.
(3) Such property or security can be given or agreed to be given either directly or indirectly.
(4) Such giving or agreeing to give can again be not only by one party to a marriage to the other but also by the parents of either party or by any other person to either party to the marriage or to any other person. It will be noticed that this clause again widens the reach of the Act insofar as those guilty of committing the offence of giving or receiving dowry is concerned.
(5) Such giving or agreeing to give can be at any time. It can be at, before, or at any ::: Downloaded on - 15/04/2017 20:27:33 :::HCHP ...17...
time after the marriage. Thus, it can be many years after a marriage is solemnised.
(6) Such giving or receiving must be in .
connection with the marriage of the parties.
Obviously, the expression "in connection with"
would in the context of the social evil sought to be tackled by the Dowry Prohibition Act mean "in relation with" or "relating to"."
28. In the very same decision, after examining the intent of the Legislators for enacting the special of enactment, by applying the principle of "force and life", the Court held that any money or property or valuable rt security demanded by any of the persons mentioned in Section 2 of the Dowry Prohibition Act, at or before or at any time after the marriage which is reasonably connected to the death of a married woman, would necessarily be in connection with or in relation to the marriage unless, the facts of a given case clearly and unequivocally point otherwise. Also, that the word "soon" would not mean immediate and each case had to be judged on the given facts. There has to be proximity and link between the impact of dowry demand and the consequential death and there cannot be any straitjacket formula for determining such factor. "Soon before" was held not to be synonymous with "immediately before".
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29. The guilt or innocence of the accused has to be deduced from the material on record. And, what is .
required to be kept in mind by the court, while appreciating the evidence, stands reiterated by the Apex Court in Bhim Singh and another v. State of Uttarakhand, (2015) 4 SCC 281, as under:
"22. In the present case, the guilt or of innocence of the accused has to be adduced from the circumstantial evidence. The law regarding circumstantial evidence is more or rtless well settled. This Court in a plethora of judgments has held that when the conviction is based on circumstantial evidence solely, then there should not be any snap in the chain of circumstances. If there is a snap in the chain, the accused is entitled to benefit of doubt. Gurpreet Singh v. State of Haryana, (2002) 8 SCC 18 is one of such cases. On the question of any reasonable hypothesis, this Court has held that if some of the circumstances in the chain can be explained by any other reasonable hypothesis, then the accused is entitled to benefit of doubt. But in assessing the evidence, imaginary possibilities have no place. The Court considers ordinary human probabilities."
30. In the backdrop of narration of facts and the principle of law, one proceeds to discuss the testimony of the prosecution witnesses.
31. PW-10 states that after reaching the spot which in the instant case is the matrimonial house of the deceased, where the dead body was lying, he recorded ::: Downloaded on - 15/04/2017 20:27:34 :::HCHP ...19...
the statement of Kushala Devi (Ext. PW-8/A, dated 5.11.2004). We notice that on the basis of such .
statement, F.I.R., immediately came to be recorded.
There is no delay in lodging the report with the police.
Now when we peruse this statement, we find the following facts to have been disclosed at the first opportune moment: (i) Within three - four months of the of marriage, accused started harassing the deceased for having brought insufficient dowry. (ii) They also subjected rt her to mental and physical cruelty. (iii) The deceased would alone visit her parental house as her husband never accompanied her. (iv) She would always complain that her father-in-law, mother-in-law and husband continuously harassed her for having brought insufficient dowry. (v) the deceased was counseled, consoled and advised to maintain good relations. (vi) Often deceased was sent to the matrimonial house with "money" and "articles of need". (vii) On 31.10.2004 the deceased alone came to perform the ceremony of Udyappan/Mokh (doing away with the ritual of fast) of Karvachowth and despite requests, her husband refused to come and participate. (viii) Even on 1.11.2004, despite requests, her husband refused to come and as such the deceased ::: Downloaded on - 15/04/2017 20:27:34 :::HCHP ...20...
with her small child, alone had to travel to her matrimonial house. (ix) In the morning of 5.11.2004 .
factum of death of the deceased was made known to the complainant.
32. It is settled principle of law that F.I.R. is not an encyclopedia. It need not carry minutest details. Bare reading of the F.I.R. reveals the complainant to have of disclosed the factum of the deceased, having suffered atrocities of dowry demands, harassment and cruelty, rt both physical and mental. All the accused stood named in the complaint.
33. Now when we peruse the substantive evidence, i.e. the testimony of Kushala Devi (PW-8), we find her to have categorically narrated all such facts.
Unequivocally, her testimony is clear, consistent and cogent. She is categorical of the accused having subjected her daughter to mental and physical cruelty and torture. She elaborates each one of the incidents and events. Within three - four months of the marriage, accused started harassing the deceased. They proclaimed that in her marriage, deceased had brought insufficient dowry. Also, all the accused physically assaulted her. All this the deceased narrated during her ::: Downloaded on - 15/04/2017 20:27:34 :::HCHP ...21...
visits to her parental house. Witness is categorical that the husband of the deceased never accompanied her.
.
She is categorical that once `10,000/- in cash was given to the deceased and second time one gold chain was given. It is not out of free will. The accused also demanded a scooter. On the occasion of "Karwachowth"
when religious ceremony was to be performed on of 31.10.2004, despite requests, accused Rakesh Kumar never came. Resultantly the following day, deceased had rt to be sent alone to her matrimonial house. She has sufficiently explained the reason for not bringing the matter to the notice of the police or the panchayat, for she had wanted the house of her daughter to be settled.
She did not want the atmosphere to be further vitiated and had reasonable apprehension of the accused further adopting a hostile attitude towards the deceased. But it is not that no action was taken at all. She did bring the matter to the notice of the mediator through whom the marriage came to be solemnized.
34. Significantly this witness has totally withstood the test of cross examination. It cannot be said that there are improvements, embellishments or contradictions in her statement. Improvement with regard to the demand ::: Downloaded on - 15/04/2017 20:27:34 :::HCHP ...22...
of electronic goods is not of such a nature as would impeach her credibility. She is a reliable witness and has .
not deposed out of vengeance. She is also not over zealous. She is truthful about the events.
35. We find her version to have been corroborated by her husband Jagdish Chand (PW-3) who also refers to the acts of cruelties, both physical and of mental, and payment of `10,000/- and a golden chain as dowry demand.
rt Yes, this witness admits to have disclosed such fact for the first time in court. But then can it be said that there is improvement in his version or that he is telling lies? In our considered view, no, for in the F.I.R. itself, the factum of payment of cash and having met other dowry demands stands mentioned.
36. Raj Kumar is uncle of the deceased. He is a police official. Even he has reiterated the events so narrated by Kushala Devi. It is true that in his previous statement, so recorded by the police, details of dowry demands are not so recorded. But then even if were to discard his testimony, testimony of Kushala Devi is sufficient enough to establish the guilt of the accused.
37. Now all that is required to be "shown" is that the accused had subjected the deceased to mental and ::: Downloaded on - 15/04/2017 20:27:34 :::HCHP ...23...
physical cruelty either as a result of dowry demand or otherwise, which in the instant case, the prosecution has .
so done. The initial burden stands discharged with the fact in issue having been proven on record, beyond reasonable doubt. Husband never bothered to take care of his wife. He exhibited extreme insensitivity. He and his parents continuously subjected the deceased to mental of and physical torture and cruelty. Demands of dowry were persistently consistent. The allegation of cruelty and rt dowry demand so narrated by the witnesses cannot be said to be vague and unspecific. The witnesses are certain about the same.
38. PW-1 has also explained the reasons for not formally initiating action against the accused. As uncle, he did not want to pollute the atmosphere. He had consoled the deceased who continued to bear the atrocities with a rare hope of things being improved in her favour. Significantly, it is not the case of the accused that this witness unnecessarily interfered in the matrimonial life or affairs and exerted undue pressure or influence. Accused were never threatened, intimidated or overawed by the police. They were also not falsely implicated by him.
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39. Gorkhu Ram, no doubt is an interested witness. He is a close relative of the deceased. From his .
unrebutted testimony, it is clear that he had mediated the marriage between the deceased and accused Rakesh Kumar. He is categorical that immediately after the marriage, accused started harassing the deceased and made dowry demands. He counseled the deceased to of show patience and allow time to settle things for her. He is certain that deceased would confide in him. In fact on rt two/three occasions he counseled the accused who undertook not to repeat such acts in future. Such version goes unrebutted. He is certain that on 4.11.2004, when deceased met him in the fields, she again narrated the incident of harassment when again he counseled her. He had disclosed such fact to the police and it remains unrebutted. Unfortunately, on 5.11.2004, deceased committed suicide by consuming poison. It is not the case of this witness that he had witnessed any quarrel between the deceased and the accused. He admits not to have filed any complaint with any authority. But then these facts would not render the prosecution version to be false or doubtful. Gorkhu Ram cannot be said to be harbouring any animus against the accused. He admits to ::: Downloaded on - 15/04/2017 20:27:34 :::HCHP ...25...
have purchased land from the accused. But then there is nothing on record to establish any dispute about the .
same. Moreover, from his unrebutted testimony it stands proven on record that his mediation had resulted into the marriage being solemnized. Hence, parties had good relationship with him. When was the land purchased and when was such dispute, if any, raised is not proven on of record. Whether it was before or after the solemnization of the marriage is not clear. Hence, trial Court erred in rt discarding the testimony of PW-2.
40. Noticeably deceased was being perpetually harassed. There was reasonable nexus between harassment and cause of death which was abetted by the accused. The incident of 4.11.2004 stood disclosed by the witness to the police.
41. It is not the law that testimonies of interested witnesses are to be altogether and outrightly discarded.
Yes, if so required, they are to be considered with little circumspection and wherever warranted with corroboration. But then in the instant case, we do not find the witnesses to have deposed falsely or their version to be doubtful.
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42. One cannot forget that in the instant case, the accused have failed to disprove the onus which .
heavily lied upon them. Prima facie, prosecution was able to establish its case, beyond reasonable doubt. What prompted the deceased to take away her life, in her matrimonial house, remains undisclosed by them. It is not that the deceased was suffering from physical or of mental ailment. It is not that she was either hypersensitive or not able to adjust to family life. Also rt she was not demanding and had set her conditions to live with the accused. She had a small child. Even her upbringing was normal.
43. When we look to the conduct of the accused, we notice them not to have taken the deceased to the hospital or informed her parents about the incident.
44. As already observed, F.I.R. need not be an encyclopedia, so long as there is reference of dowry demand which stood met both in cash and kind. Absence of items such as scooter or gold chain would not make any difference and it cannot be said that narration of such facts, in Court is an improvement. Hence, the Court below erred in recording such findings.
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45. Suggestion on the part of the accused of being financially well off and accused Rakesh Kumar .
being self employed, thus negating the theory of dowy demand, would not render the prosecution case to be doubtful. Accused Rakesh Kumar is working as Purohit.
But then it does not mean that rich and affluent people cannot be greedy, though converse may be true.
of
46. Court below, seriously erred in correctly and completely rt appreciating the testimonies of the prosecution witnesses as also the law as aforesaid.
47. In our considered view, prosecution has been able to establish the guilt of the accused, beyond reasonable doubt, by leading clear, cogent, convincing and reliable piece of evidence.
48. From the material placed on record, it stands established by the prosecution witnesses that the accused are guilty of having committed the offences charged for. The accused abetted the deceased to take away her life. Despite fulfilment of certain demands, accused unrelentingly persisted with the same and continuously harassed and tortured the deceased. There is sufficient, convincing, cogent and reliable evidence on record to this effect. The circumstances stand ::: Downloaded on - 15/04/2017 20:27:34 :::HCHP ...28...
conclusively proved by unbroken chain of unimpeachable testimony of the prosecution witnesses. The guilt of the .
accused stands proved beyond reasonable doubt to the hilt. The chain of events stand conclusively established and lead only to one conclusion, i.e. guilt of the accused.
Circumstances when cumulatively considered fully establish completion of chain of events, indicating the of guilt of the accused and no other hypothesis other than the same. It cannot be said that accused are innocent or rt not guilty or that they have been falsely implicated or that their defence is probable or that the evidence led by the prosecution is inconsistent, unreliable, untrustworthy and unbelievable. It cannot be said that the version narrated by the witnesses in Court is in a parrot-like manner and hence is to be disbelieved.
49. Thus, in our considered view, findings returned by the trial Court cannot be said to be based on correct and complete appreciation of material on record, which are reversed. The appeal is allowed and we hold all the accused persons guilty of having committed offences, punishable under the provisions of Sections 498-A & 306, both read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code, for ::: Downloaded on - 15/04/2017 20:27:34 :::HCHP ...29...
treating deceased Renu Bala with cruelty and thereby abetting her to commit suicide.
.
50. For the purpose of hearing the accused-
convict on the quantum of sentence, the appeal be listed on 14.6.2016. They be produced in the Court on the said date. Copy of the judgment be supplied to the accused, free of cost.
of Appeal stands disposed of, so also pending application(s), if any.
rt ( Sanjay Karol ),
Judge.
( Ajay Mohan Goel ),
May 27, 2016(sd) Judge.
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