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R/SCR.A/4831/2014 JUDGMENT

1. By   this   application   under   Article   227   of   the  Constitution   of   India,   the   petitioner­original  informant calls in question the legality and validity  of   the   order   dated   4th  October   2014,   passed   by   the  learned   Sessions   Judge,   Surendranagar,   in   Sessions  Case No.321 of 2014. 

2. It   appears   that   the   respondent   Nos.2   to   8   are  accused,   having   abetted   commission   of   suicide.   It  appears that the daughter of the petitioner herein was  harassed   by   the   accused   persons.   On   account   of  incessant harassment, the daughter committed suicide.  Before committing suicide, she left behind a suicide  note.  In  the   suicide  note,  addressed   to   her   mother,  father and her elders it has been stated that she was  fed up with the continuous and incessant harassment at  the   end   of   the   persons   named   therein,   i.e.   the  accused. She has stated that the persons named in the  note   used   to   call   her   up   on   phone   and   harass   her.  Whenever she used to come out of the house they used  to harass her. They used to threatened her. She has  stated that on account of fear of her father she was  unable to disclose the same before the family members.  She   has   further   stated   that   if   she   would   disconnect  the telephone line they used to threaten her that they  would tarnish her reputation in the society. She has  stated   that  on  account   of   harassment   by   the   accused  persons her life had been spoilt. She has also stated  that   many   times   thought   use   to   come   in   her   mind   of  committing   suicide.   It   appears   that,   shortly  R/SCR.A/4831/2014 JUDGMENT thereafter she committed suicide. 

7. Section   32(1)   of   the   Evidence   Act   renders   a  statement relevant which was made by a person who is  dead in cases in which cause of his death comes into  question,   but   its   admissibility   depends   upon   one   of  the   two   conditions:   Either   such   statement   should  relate to the cause of his death or it should relate  to   any   of   the   circumstances   of   transaction   which  resulted in his death.

8. When the deceased made the statements in the note  that   she  was   being   harassed   by   the   accused   persons,  she might or might not have been under the expectation  of death. But that does not matter. The fact spoken by  R/SCR.A/4831/2014 JUDGMENT the   deceased   has   subsequently   turned   out   to   be   a  circumstance   which   intimately   related   to   the  transaction   which   resulted   in   her   death.   The  collocation   of   the   words   in   Section   32(1)   " 

13.The prosecution, therefore, has been able to show  that   soon   before   her   death   the   deceased   has   been  subjected   by   the   appellant   to   taunt   in   connection  with  demand  for  dowry.This  Court  has   held  in  Pawan   Kumar and others v. State of Haryana (AIR 1998 SC 958  :   1998   AIR  SCW   721)   (supra)   that   a   girl   dreams   of   great   days   ahead   with   hope   and   aspiration   when  entering into a marriage, and if from the very next  day the husband starts taunting her for not bringing  dowry and calling her ugly, there cannot be greater  mental torture, harassment or cruelty for any bride  and   such   acts   of   taunting   by   the   husband   would  constitute cruelty both within the meaning of Section  498A and Section 304B, IPC.

14.Once   it   is   established   by   the   prosecution   that   soon before her death the deceased was subjected by  the appellant to harassment or cruelty in connection  with demand for dowry, the Court has to presume that   the appellant has committed the offence under Section  304B, IPC. This will be clear from Section 113B of   the  Indian  Evidence  Act   which  states  that  when  the   question is whether a person has committed the dowry  death of a woman and it is shown that soon before her   death such woman has been subjected by such person,  to cruelty or harassment for, or in connection with,  any  demand  for   dowry,  the   Court  shall   presume  that   such   person   had   caused   the   dowry   death.The  prosecution in this case had led sufficient evidence  before   the   Court   to   raise   a   presumption   that   the  appellant had caused the dowry death of the deceased  and   it   was,   therefore,   for   the   appellant   to   rebut   this presumption."