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harassment was given. It is highly unlikely that the deceased would have been sent to her matrimonial home after she had complained about the harassment to her family members.

Learned Trial Court heavily relied upon the suicide note, but the same was not proved by examining the Handwriting Expert.

Therefore, he prayed that the present appeal be allowed and the judgment and order passed by the learned Trial Court be set aside.

10. Mr. Jitender Sharma, learned Additional Advocate General, for the respondent-State, submitted that the report submitted by the Handwriting Expert is per se admissible under Section 293 of Cr.PC, and there was no requirement to examine the Handwriting Expert. The witnesses consistently stated about the harassment. Even Ajay Sharma (PW5) who is Pradhan at the relevant time specifically stated that a complaint of harassment was made to him by complainant Lachhman Dass (PW1) during the lifetime of Rama Devi. The evidence on the record showed that the accused had treated the deceased with cruelty, and the ( 2025:HHC:25967 ) deceased had no other option but to commit suicide; hence, he prayed that the present appeal be dismissed.

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11. I have given considerable thought to the submissions made at the bar and have gone through the records carefully.

12. Learned Trial Court heavily relied upon the suicide note stated to have been written by the deceased on her left hand, to hold that the accused Ishro Devi was responsible for her death. This suicide note was sent to RFSL, Dharamshala, for comparison with the admitted handwriting of the deceased. The report (Ex-PB) was issued. However, the Handwriting Expert was not examined to prove the report. It was submitted on behalf of the State that the report is per se admissible under Section 293 of the Cr.PC. This submission is not correct. It was laid down by this Court in State of Himachal Pradesh versus Anoop Kumar 2008 (1) ShimLC 71 that the opinion of a handwriting expert is required to be proved in accordance with the law. It was observed:-

"The allegations against Anoop Kumar are that he forged G.R. Ext.PW-18/A. In support of forgery allegedly committed by Anoop Kumar, the prosecution has relied on a handwriting expert report, Ext. PW-19/A. This report was produced by P.W.-19 Garib Dass, a Retired Inspector. The prosecution did not examine handwriting experts to ( 2025:HHC:25967 ) prove Ext.PW-19/A. Section 293, Cr.P.C., permits the use of some reports in evidence, but the report of a handwriting expert is not included in Section 293, Cr.P.C.