Himachal Pradesh High Court
State Of Himachal Pradesh vs Satpal on 3 June, 2016
Bench: Sanjay Karol, Ajay Mohan Goel
IN THE HIGH COURT OF HIMACHAL PRADESH, SHIMLA Cr. Appeal No.91 of 2011 Reserved on:03.05.2016 .
Date of Decision : June 3 , 2016 State of Himachal Pradesh ...Appellant.
Versus
Satpal ...Respondent.
of
Coram:
The Hon'ble Mr. Justice Sanjay Karol, Judge. The Hon'ble Mr. Justice Ajay Mohan Goel, Judge.
rt Whether approved for reporting? 1Yes.
For the Appellant : Mr. R.S. Verma, Addl. AG., with Mr.Puneet Rajta, Dy. AG., and Mr.J.S. Guleria, Asstt. AG.
For the Respondents : Mr. P.S. Goverdhan, Advocate as Amicus Curiae.
Mr. K.S. Thakur, Advocate.
Sanjay Karol, Judge State has appealed against the judgment dated 07.02.2011, passed by learned Additional Sessions Judge, Una, H.P., in Sessions Case No.19/2010/Sessions Trial No.15 of 2010, titled as State of H.P. Versus Satpal, challenging the acquittal of respondent Satpal (hereinafter referred to as the Whether reporters of the local papers may be allowed to see the judgment?
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accused), who stands charged for having committed an offence punishable under the provisions of Section 306 .
of the Indian Penal Code.
2. It is the case of prosecution that Smt. Nisha Kumari (deceased) was married to accused Satpal, sometime in the year 2006. Soon after the marriage, of accused subjected his wife to cruelty both physical and mental. A lso there were dowry demands. The matter was brought to the notice of the mediator Ram Dass rt (PW.4), who apart from the parents of the deceased, counselled the accused as also the deceased. But however, such atrocities continued to be perpetuated and as such on 15.07.2010, Nisha Kumari (deceased) committed suicide by consuming poison. Police received such information and Inspector Ruldu Ram Thakur (PW.7) reached the spot, where he recorded the statement of Om Prakash (PW.1), father of the deceased, which led to registration of FIR No.224/2010, dated 16.07.2010 (Ex.PW-6/A), by Amit Sharma (PW.6), against the accused, for commission of offence, punishable under the provisions of Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code, at Police Station Una, H.P. Inquest ::: Downloaded on - 15/04/2017 20:33:42 :::HCHP ...3...
report (Ex.PC) was prepared and the dead body sent for postmortem, which was conducted by Dr. Daljeet .
S ingh, who issued the postmortem report (Ex.PD).
Investigation revealed complicity of the accused in the alleged crime. Hence, challan was presented in the Court for trial.
of
3. Accused was charged for having committed offence punishable under the provisions of Sections 306 of the Indian Penal Code, to which he did not plead rt guilty and claimed trial.
4. In order to establish its case, prosecution examined as many as seven witnesses and statement of the accused, under the provisions of Section 313 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, was also recorded, in which he took defence of innocence and false implication.
5. Based on the testimonies of the witnesses and the material on record, trial Court acquitted the accused of the charged offence, on the ground that (a) in the absence of any corroborative evidence, testimonies of close relatives, who were interested witnesses, could not be relied upon to convict the ::: Downloaded on - 15/04/2017 20:33:42 :::HCHP ...4...
accused; (b) no documentary proof with regard to payment was either placed or proven by the .
prosecution; (c) also no prior report was lodged with the police or Panchayat; (d) relationship between the accused and the deceased appeared to be cordial. In fact, during visits to the house of the deceased, the of complainant party was given due respect and proper treatment by the accused.
6. rtHaving heard learned counsel for the parties as also perused the record, we are of the considered view that the trial Court serious ly 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 sometime in the ye ar 2006, accused Satpal got married to deceased Nisha Kumar i cannot be disputed, which fact, in any event, stands clearly established through the unrebutted testimony of the father of the deceased Om Prakash (PW-1). Such ::: Downloaded on - 15/04/2017 20:33:42 :::HCHP ...5...
marriage came to be solemnized through the mediation of Ram Dass (PW.4) also cannot be disputed.
.
8. That deceased expired on 15.07.2010, is also not in dispute. From the testimony of Inspector Ruldu Ram Thakur (PW.7), it is evident that when the factum of such death was brought to the notic e, police of acted with promptitude, by visiting the spot and conducting investigation, which is fair and proper.
Inquest report (Ex.PC) reveals that the dead body was rt found in the matrimonial house. Undisputedly, the accused and the deceased used to jointly reside there.
From the room a small packet having poisonous substance was taken into possession by the police vide memo (Ex.P C). As per report of the Forensic Science Laboratory (Ex. PE), contents of Thimet (organophosphorus insecticide), a poisonous s ubstance, were found therein.
9. Postmortem of the dead body was conducted , report whereof (Ex .PD) was tendered in evidence.
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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 stands charged for having committed an offence, punishable under the provisions of Section 306 of the of Indian Penal Code. To establish the same, prosecution has to prove that the accused, being the husband, subjected the deceased to cruelty.
rt
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 deceased to commit suicide or harassment with a view to coerce her to meet any unlawful demand of property or 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 ::: Downloaded on - 15/04/2017 20:33:42 :::HCHP ...7...
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 Sushil Kumar Sharma. Vs. Union of India & Ors. (2005) 6 SCC 281 , the Apex Court has observed that:
of "11. One other provision which is relevant to be noted is Section 306 IPC. The basic d ifference between the two sections i.e. Section 306 and Section 498-A is that of intention.
rt 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 and intended."
14. In State of West Bengal Vs. Orilal Jaiswal (1994) 1 SCC 73, the Apex Court has further observed that:
"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 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 ::: Downloaded on - 15/04/2017 20:33:42 :::HCHP ...8...
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 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 the standard adopted must be a standard of adopted by a reasonable and just man for coming to a conclusion considering the particular subject matter.
rt The conscience of the court can never be bound by any rule but that is coming itself d ictates the consciousness and prudent exercise of the judgment. Reasonable doubt is simply that degr ee 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)
15. The Apex Court further cautioned that the court should be extremely careful in assessing the facts and circumstances of each case and the evidence adduced in the trial for the purpose of finding whether ::: Downloaded on - 15/04/2017 20:33:42 :::HCHP ...9...
the cruelty meted out to the vic tim 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 d ifferences in domestic life quite common to the society to which the victim belonged and such of petulance, discord and differences were not expected to induce a similarly circumstanced individual in a g iven society to commit suicide, the conscience of the rt court should not be satisfied for basing a finding that the accused charged of abetting the offence of suicide should be found guilty.
16. Whether one spouse has been guilty of cruelty to the other is essentially a question of fact. The impact of complaints, accusations or taunts on a person 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 ::: Downloaded on - 15/04/2017 20:33:42 :::HCHP ...10...
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 ].
17. Instigation is to goad, urge forward, provoke, incite or encourage to do an act. To satisfy of the requirement of instigation though it is not necessary that actual words must be used to that effect or what constitutes instigation must necessarily rt and specifically be suggestive of the consequen ce. Yet a reasonable certainty to incite the consequence must be capable of 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]
18. The concept of cruelty and its effect varies from individual to individual, also depending upon the ::: Downloaded on - 15/04/2017 20:33:42 :::HCHP ...11...
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 mental torture or abnormal behaviour may amount to cruelty and harassment in a given case.
[Gananath Pattnaik vs. State of Orissa, (2002) 2 SCC of 619]
19. The Apex Court in Naresh Kumar v. State of Haryana and others, (2015) 1 SCC 797, has observed rt that "If the wife commits suicide by setting herself on fire, proceeded by dissatisfaction of the husband and h is family from the dowry, the interference of harassment against the husband may be patent."
20. 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, 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."
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21. The Apex Court in Rajinder Singh v. State of Punjab, (2015) 6 SCC 477, in the following words, .
explained the meaning of "dowry", as under:
"8. A perusal of this Section shows that this definition can be broken into six distinct parts:
(1) Dowry must first consist of any of 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.
rt(2) Such property or security can be given or even agreed to be given. The actual g iving 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 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.
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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"."
22. In the very same decision, after examining the intent of the Legislators for enacting the special enactment, by applying the principle of "force and life", of the Court held that any money or property or valuable security demanded by any of the persons mentioned in Section 2 of the Dowry Prohibition Act, at or before or rt 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. A lso, 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.
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23. The Apex Court in State of H.P. Versus Lekh Raj and another, (2000) 1 SCC 247, has held as under:-
.
"10. ... ... ...
The criminal trial cannot be equated with a mock scene from a stunt film. The legal trial is conducted to ascertain the guilt or innocence of the accused arraigned. In arriving at a conclusion about the truth, the courts are of required to adopt a rational approach and judge the evidence by its intrinsic worth and the rtanimus of the witnesses. The hypertechnicalities or figment of imagination should not be allowed to divest the court of its responsibility of sifting and weighing the evidence to arrive at the conclusion regarding the existence or otherwise of a particula r circumstance keeping in view the peculiar facts of each case, the social position of the victim and the accused, the larger interests of the society particularly the law and order problem and degrading values of life inherent in the prevalent system. The realities of life have to be kept in mind while appreciating the evidence for arriving at the truth. The courts are not obliged to make efforts either to give latitude to the prosecution or loosely construe the law in favour of the accused. The traditional dogmatic hypertechnical approach has to be replaced by a rational, realistic and genuine approach for administering justice in a criminal trial. Criminal ::: Downloaded on - 15/04/2017 20:33:42 :::HCHP ...15...
jurisprudence cannot be considered to be a utopian thought but have to be considered as part and parcel of the human civilization and .
the realities of life. The courts cannot ignore the erosion in values of life which are a common feature of the present system. Such erosions cannot be given a bonus in favour of those who are guilty of polluting society and mankind."
(Emphasis supplied) of
24. In the backdrop of narration of facts and the principle of law, one proceeds to discuss the testimony rt of the prosecution witnesses.
25. Inspector Ruldu Ram Thakur (PW.7) 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 the statement of Om Prakash (Ex.PA, dated 16.07.2010). 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. Also there was no prior consultation or premeditation. Now when we peruse the said statement, we find the following facts to have been d isclosed at the first opportune moment: (i) After s ix months of the marriage, whenever deceased used to visit her parental house, she would always complain ::: Downloaded on - 15/04/2017 20:33:42 :::HCHP ...16...
that her husband would subject her to beatings and harassment; (ii) About one year prior to the incident, .
accused demanded `10,000/- and when `5000/- was g iven, accused re turned the same demanding the entire amount and the deceased was again sent to get `10,000/-; (iii) Despite such demand having met, of accused subjected her to maltreatment; (iv) Complainant alongwith Kishori Lal went to the house of accused and counselled and advised him to maintain rt good relations with the deceased; (v) Even thereafter, accused continued such acts of maltreatment, which fact came to be disclosed when deceased visited and stayed in her parental house for about 18-20 days; (vi) Ram Dass (mediator) was called and on his assurance the deceased was sent to the matrimonial house; (vii) The accused still continued with such atrocities and treated her with cruelty both physical and mental, as a result of which, deceased ended her life by consuming poison; (viii) The accused neither provided any medicine to his daughter nor took her to the hospital, resulting into her death in her matrimonial house; and ::: Downloaded on - 15/04/2017 20:33:42 :::HCHP ...17...
(ix) The accused failed to inform about the death, which fact was so disclosed by Bhagat Ram.
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26. It is a settled principle of law that F.I.R. is not an encyclopedia. It need not carry the minutest details. Just bare reading of the F.I.R. reveals the complainant to have disclosed the factum of the of deceased, having suffered atrocities of dowry demands, harassment and cruelty, both physical and mental. The accused stood named in the complaint.
rt
27. In the instant case, there are two sets of evidences and both are unrebutted. Though we shall d iscuss their testimonies in detail, but through the testimonies of father Om Prakash (PW.1), Uncle , Ram Dass (PW.4) and brother-in-law of the deceased Kishori Lal (PW.5), in our considered view, the factum of cruelty and dowry demand stands proved and through the testimony of neighbour Bhagat Ram ((PW.3), which perhaps may be inspiring, it has also come on record that relations between the accused and the deceased were cordial and both were leading a happy married life. Also deceased used to remain tense for the reason ::: Downloaded on - 15/04/2017 20:33:42 :::HCHP ...18...
that she could not deliver a child. Here we give benefit to the accused.
.
28. However, having given our thoughtful consideration, we are of the considered view that such versions are not at all contradictory. In fact, two fact situations are totally reconcilable . They do not render of the testimonies of the witnesses to be doubtful, much less shaky.
29. rt Now it is not the law as we have already noticed above, that the testimonies of interested witnesses are not to be relied upon at all. Wherever required and only as a matter of prudence if there is doubt, Court can look for some corroboration only to strengthen the same and that too for reassuring itself with regard to the truthfulness of such statements. It is also not the requirement of law that each and every illegal act must be reported to the authorities. The eviden ce has to be appreciated in the given fact situation.
30. In the instant case, one cannot forget that death took place in the matrimonial house within seven years of marriage. It is not a case of murder and as is ::: Downloaded on - 15/04/2017 20:33:42 :::HCHP ...19...
so suggested by the accused himself, deceased consumed poison. Her dead body was found by the .
police in her room. The defence set up by the accused is as under:-
" I am innocent. Actually, Smt. Nisha used to remain tense as she was unable to bear the child. I have been involved in a false case by of my in -laws."
31. Significantly, there is no documentary evidence on record to establish such fact. Be that as it rt may, when we examine the conduct of the accused, we find him not to have taken the deceased to the hospital for treatment. It is not his case, that at the time when deceased consumed poison, he was not at home. In the night of 15.07.2010, police learnt about such death. He did not inform the police. He did not inform the neighbours. He did not inform the relatives of the deceased. Also h e did not take any steps for providing immediate medical treatment to the deceased.
32. Independent of the aforesaid conduct, we now proceed to examine the testimonies of prosecution witnesses on record, for if we find the prosecution to have "shown" that the accused had abetted the ::: Downloaded on - 15/04/2017 20:33:42 :::HCHP ...20...
deceased in committing suicide, by leading credible evidence, then obviously statutory onus would shift .
upon the accused.
33. Bhagat Ram (PW.3) is the immediate neighbour of the accused. He states that on 15.07.2010, at about 3.00 PM, when he returned from of the fields, he learnt about the death of Nisha Kumari. It was he, who went to the house of the complainant and informed about the tragedy. Noticeably, he does state rt that relations between the accused and the deceased were cordial. Als o the deceased was leading a happy married life in the house of her in-laws, but however, she would remain tense as she could not deliver a child.
34. This witness further wants the Court to believe that even the accused was in the fields and when he returned , he raised hue and cry, Dr. Modi was called, who declared her dead. Thereafter, on the asking of the accused and his parents, he went to the house of the complainant party and informed them about the incident. But then the accused does not state all this in his statement under Section 313 Cr.P.C. We ::: Downloaded on - 15/04/2017 20:33:42 :::HCHP ...21...
have our serious doubts about the correctness of such version. Crucially when it had come to the notice of the .
accused that deceased had consumed poison, why is it that he himself did not inform the police and who is this Dr. Modi remains a mystery? Accused has not examined him in defence. This witness also did not of inform the police about the incident. Be that as it may, the fact of the matter is that accused did not try to take the deceased to the hospital. Why is it that the rt accused did not inform the complainant, he does not state. He does not state that both the deceased and the accused would not quarrel. All that he states is that no such quarrel took place in his presence. Now if the deceased was happily married, why would she consume poison. Her mental state of remaining tense for allegedly not delivering a child, was not such that she would take away her life, for it has come on record that at some point in time she had conceived . Parties were married only for five years, which is not a sufficiently long period to be resumed that a child could never be delivered. It is also not the case of the ::: Downloaded on - 15/04/2017 20:33:42 :::HCHP ...22...
accused that he had got his wife treated for ailment, if any.
.
35. Hence, this witness cannot be said to have rendered the prosecution story to be doubtful. More so, for the fact that it is not the case of prosecution that the incident of dowry demand and cruelties, of physical and mental were made known to all and sundry, including the neighbours. S ignificantly it is not the case of this witness that deceased used to confide rt in him or anyone of his family members. It is also not the case of this witness that deceased was on visiting terms with him. Hence, what transpired within the four walls of the castle of the parties was obviously not required to be known to this witness. His observation of cordial relationship and happy married life is only as an outsider, having no knowledge of actual relationship of the parties. As such, his version does not render the prosecution story to be false, incorrect or improbable.
36. Om Prakash (PW.1), father of the deceased, categorically states that six months after the marriage, accused started ill-treating the deceased, who would often complain about such acts. Accused used to beat ::: Downloaded on - 15/04/2017 20:33:42 :::HCHP ...23...
her and demand money. On one occasion, when deceased came with a demand of `10,000/- set up by .
the accused, `5000/- was given, which was not accepted and returned, for he wanted the entire demand to be fulfilled in one go. Accordingly, `10,000/-
was paid. Yet accused continued to physically assault of the deceased. When he brought the matter to the notice of Kishori Lal (PW.5), accused who was counselled begged pardon and assured not to repeat rt the same again. However, accused did not mend his ways and continued to physically assault the deceased, as a result of which, on one occasion, deceased returned to her parental house and stayed for 10-20 days. At that time, on the asking of this witness, Ram Dass, who had got marriage solemnized intervened and when the accused was confronted he again begged pardon. Only with the assurance that his daughter would be safe, deceased returned to the matrimonial house. However, such harassment and beatings continued and eventually deceased ended her life by consuming poison. Factum of such death came to be known through Bhagat Ram.
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37. Now, in cross-examination, we do not find the testimony of this witness to have been shattered in .
any manner. He has withstood the test of cross-
examination. There are no improvements, embellishments or contradictions. He is clear and categorical with regard to the dowry demand and the of physical assaults . That accused begged pardon not once but twice is clear . He assured to mend his ways and only thereafter the deceased was allowed to return rt to the matrimonial house. He has explained that the accused rarely accompanied the deceased. He has explained that dowry demand started only six months after marriage. His explanation of not having brought the matter to the notice of the Panchayat or the police, as it could have ended the relationship , is quite p lausible and acceptable. Noticeably parties hail from rural background. Significantly his substantive evidence is on the lines of his version, so disclosed by him to the police when his stat ement (Ex.PA) came to be recorded. The intent of the accused in abetting the crime is evidently clear.
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38. We find version of this witness to be fully corroborated by Ram Dass (PW.4). He is the one, who .
had got the marriage solemnized. He is clear that the dowry demand and the cruelties started six months after the marriage. The conduct of the accused was brought to his notice and he counselled and the of accused, who after admitting h is mistake, begged for pardon. Now simply because accused treated this witness nicely or was given due respect, would not rt render his version to be doubtful, false or incorrect. He admits that father of the accused is d istantly related to him. That the accused is a nice person was an impression he carried at the time of solemniz ation of marriage, but then thereafter, when matter was brought to his notice, he counselled the accused and accepted h is assurance of good conduct, which regretfully was not so done. Credit of this witness is sought to be impeached from h is version to the effect that about one and half month prior to her death, deceased stood assaulted by the accused and sent back to her parental house. In his statement (Ex.DA) with which he was confronted, it is not so recorded. But ::: Downloaded on - 15/04/2017 20:33:42 :::HCHP ...26...
then in view of the explanation appended to Section 162 of Cr.P.C., we do not find such fact to be a .
contradiction. This we say for the reason that it has come in the testimony of Om Prakash (PW.1) that the accused had assaulted the deceased, as a result of which, she had come to her parental house and Ram of Dass was asked to intervene.
39. Now all that is required to be "shown" is that the accused had subjected the deceased to mental rt and physical cruelty either as a result of dowry demand or otherwise, which in the instant case, the prosecution has done so. The initial burden stands discharged with the fact in issue proven on record, beyond reasonable doubt. Husband never bothered to take care of his wife. He exhibited extreme insensitivity. He continuously subjected the deceased to mental and physical torture and cruelty. Demands of dowry were persistently consistent. The allegation of cruelty and dowry demand so narrated by the witnesses cannot be said to be vague and unspecific. The witnesses are certain about the same.
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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 15.07.2010 stood d isclosed by the witness to the police.
41. It is not the law that testimonies of of interested witnesses are to be altogether and outrightly d iscarded. Yes, if so required, they are to be considered with little circumspection and wherever rt warranted with corroboration. But then in the instant case, we do not find the witnesses to have deposed falsely or their version to be in doubt.
42. One cannot forget that in the instant case, the accused has failed to discharge the onus which heavily rested upon him. 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, he could not explain. It is not that the deceased was suffering from physical or mental ailment. It is not that she was either hypersensitive or not able to adjust to family life. Also she was not demanding or had set her conditions to ::: Downloaded on - 15/04/2017 20:33:43 :::HCHP ...28...
live with the accused. Even her upbringing was normal.
.
43. Court below, seriously erred in correctly and completely appreciating the testimonies of the prosecution witnesses as also the law as aforesaid.
44. In our consid ered view, prosecution has of been able to establish the guilt of the accused, beyond reasonable doubt, by leading clear, cogent, convincing and reliable piece of evidence.
rt
45. From the material placed on record, it stands established by the prosecution witnesses that the accused is guilty of having committed the offence 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 th e deceased. There is sufficient, convincing, cogent and reliable evidence on record to this effect. The circumstances stand 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 ::: Downloaded on - 15/04/2017 20:33:43 :::HCHP ...29...
events stand conclusively established and lead only to one conclusion, i.e. guilt of the accused.
.
C ircumstances when cumulatively considered fully establish completion of chain of events, indicating the guilt of the accused and no other hypothesis other than the same. It cannot be said that accused is innocent or of not guilty or that he has been falsely implicated or that h is defence is probable or that the evidence led by the prosecution is inconsistent, unreliable, untrustworthy rt 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.
46. 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 the accused guilty of having committed offence, punishable under the provisions of Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code, for treating deceased Nisha Kumari with cruelty and thereby abetting her to commit suicide.
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47. For the purpose of hearing the accused-
convict on the quantum of sentence, the appeal be .
listed on 21.06.2016. He be produced in the Court on the said date. Copy of the judgment be supplied to the accused, free of cost.
48. This Court places on record, with of appreciation, the efforts put in by Sh.P.S. Goverdhan, learned Amicus Curiae, in assisting the Court.
rt Appeal stands disposed of, so also pending application(s), if any.
( Sanjay Karol ), Judge.
( Ajay Mohan Goel ),
June 3 , 2016 Judge.
(Purohit)
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