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“…..Upto Dec., 1997 I remained at Ambala Cantt. Tirloki Nath used to visit Ambala Cantt and was always found by us to be disturbed, because of the family problem. Tirloki Nath told us that he was shifted to a separate room at the top floor of the house and that he was not provided any article of food and was being mal-treated by his wife Smt. Gargi Devi. He also told many a time that he was never allowed to enter the room and toilet by his wife at night times. Tirloki Nath deceased left our house at Ambala Cantt lastly on 28.4.1997, around 7.45 AM and while leaving, told that it was his last time to go to Panchkula to collect his belongings and then would be coming to Ambala Cantt for ever. On this, I asked him as to why he was taking this step. He told me that he was very much upset due to the illicit relations of his wife Smt. Gargi Devi and was afraid of that if he stayed in the same house at Panchkula, he could be murdered, with the help of her three brothers…On this I told him that it was not possible because a wife cannot kill her husband. However, while leaving our house, he was totally shattered. Tirloki Nath used to take tea only in his room at the top floor of the house, using his independent cylinder in his room. He was not provided even tea by Smt. Gargi and the children. He told me that once his wife had opened the gas cylinder in order to kill him…..I was on tour on 1.5.97. I came back to my house at Ambala late in the night at about 11.30 PM. Immediately thereafter, I got a message from my neighbour, namely Mr. T.R. Malhotra giving me the message that his (sic) brother Tirloki Nath at Panchkula was no more, as he received this information from some colleague of my brother. (Objected to). My brother was murdered. At that time, it was not clear by whom. Thereafter, I gave telephonic messages to my relatives regarding the murder of my brother. So, I alongwith my brother-in-law Mr. A.C. Puri, my sister Smt. Radha Puri, my mother Smt. Raj Kumari, my wife Meenakshi went to Panchkula. On our reaching at Panchkula, we found two ASIs sitting outside the house of Smt. Gargi. On my enquiry, as to what had happened to my brother, I was told that I should go up-stairs and found out myself. We all went up-stairs and found the dead body of Tirloki Nath hanging with a fan. The feet of my brother were touching the floor. Blood was noticed on the floor. The body was giving bad odour. I reported the matter to the police vide statement Ex. PH. It was signed by me.…….” 3.2.1. This witness PW-7, in his cross-examination on behalf of the appellant, stated, inter alia, as under: -

The High Court affirmed the conviction of appellant while acquitting her brothers

7. The appeals preferred by the appellant and her brothers against the judgement and order aforesaid, being Criminal Appeal No. 341-DB of 1998 and Criminal Appeal No. 359-DB of 1998, before the High Court of Punjab and Haryana at Chandigarh were considered together and decided by the common judgment dated 05.03.2008. The High Court held that it had been a case of homicide, essentially with reference to the medical evidence and the features of the scene of crime. The High Court also held that the culpability of the appellant stood established in view of the circumstances that: (a) when the appellant was sharing the same bedroom with deceased Tirloki Nath, the onus was heavy upon her to explain the circumstances leading to the death of her husband, which she failed to discharge; (b) the appellant had the motive to murder her husband when there were strained relations between them and the deceased had expressed apprehension to be done to death by the appellant; (c) the subsequent conduct of the appellant was also questionable, where she was found taking tea with her brothers on the first floor although the dead body of Tirloki Nath was hanging by rope in the Chaubara at the top floor; (d) and the appellant did not send any information to the brothers and other relations of Tirloki Nath immediately after noticing his demise. The High Court, however, rejected the prosecution case that brothers of the appellant had conspired with the appellant to carry out the murder and hanging of the deceased Tirloki Nath. Even after rejecting the prosecution case against brothers of the appellant, and even after finding that the crime in question was not the handiwork of one person, the High Court proceeded to observe that the appellant was rightly convicted in the matter as the principal offender, though the investigating agency failed to find out the other persons who were accomplice in this crime. The High Court also observed that the Trial Court had discussed threadbare the defence evidence and had rightly disbelieved the testimony of DW-3 Surinder Kumar, who was introduced by the appellant as an afterthought.

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23. There were strained relations, between Tirloki Nath and his wife. From the statement of Brij Bhushan, PW-7 and Radha Puri, PW-8 it was proved that Tirloki Nath was tense and upset, as he was being ill treated by his wife. It is has also come in the statement of Radha Puri, PW-8, that Tirloki Nath was fearful that he would be killed one day. When Tirloki Nath met Radha Puri, his sister, and his brother-in-law, in Ambala he told them that he was apprehending danger to his life at the hands of Smt. Gargi his wife. Even, it is evident, from the statement of Brij Bhushan, PW7, that Tirloki Nath was being ill-treated by his wife Smt. Gargi. Even on 28.4.1997 in the morning when Tirloki Nath left the house of Brij Bhushan, at Ambala, for Chandigarh, he told him that it was his last visit to Panchkula, as he would be coming with his luggage, to permanently settle at Ambala, as he was fearing that he would be done to death by his wife Smt. Gargi. These last words spoken by him to his brother, Brij Bhushan on 28.4.1997 in the morning, as stated above, fall within the purview of his dying declaration. It was on account of the strained relations, between Triloki Nath has his wife Smt. Gargi that she committed her murder by strangulating him and thereafter hanged his body with ceiling fan (sic). Smt. Gargi was definitely having a motive to commit the murder of Triloki Nath, for the reasons referred to hereinbefore. The motive plays a very significant role, in case, which is based on the circumstantial evidence. The culpability of Smt. Gargi, accused is thus proved.

26. We may, in the passing also point out another glaring factor in relation to the testimonies of PW-7 and PW-8. It is but apparent that PW-7, even before reaching the spot of crime, had already concluded that his brother had been murdered. In his words: ‘I gave telephonic messages to my relatives regarding the murder of my brother’. PW-8 has directly contradicted him while saying: ‘On 1.5.97, I came to know through my brother Brij Bhushan that Tirloki Nath had committed suicide. He told that as per the information, the neighbourers at Panchkula told that Tirloki Nath had committed suicide.’ Another feature of the case is that as per the site sketch prepared by PW-3 Manohar Lal, (Ex. PD), there was a bathroom-cum-toilet of 10 feet x 3 feet size, attached with the room in question where the deceased was putting up, as per the witnesses PW-7 and PW-8. It clearly belies the suggestion that the deceased was forced to use the washroom of the tenant at the ground floor.