Content Provider | Supreme Court of India |
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e-ISSN | 30484839 |
Language | English |
Access Restriction | NDLI |
Subject Keyword | Ss. 304B 1860 405 & 406/Dowry Prohibition Act Ss.3 &4: i. . I> Unnatural death of wife/Dowry Death-Torturing of wife by husband and in-laws for demand of dowry forcing her to commit suicide-Relationship between husband and deceased-Whether cordial-Held: Accused-husband could not prove on the basis of letters allegedly written by the deceased that his relationship with the deceased was cordial-Acquittal of accused in complaint case filed against him later alleging commission of an offence by him u/ss. 405 & 406 !PC and ss. 3 & 4 of Dowry Prohibition Act not relevant as charges in the present case were not same Penal Code |
Content Type | Text |
Resource Type | Law Judgement |
Jurisdiction | India |
Case Type | Appeal |
Court | Supreme Court of India |
Disposal Nature | Appeal Dismissed |
Headnote | Penal Code, 1860; Ss. 304B, 405 & 406/Dowry Prohibition Act; Ss.3 & 4:Unnatural death of wife/Dowry Death - Torturing of wife by husband and in-laws for demand of dowry forcing her to commit suicide - Relationship between husband and deceased - Whether cordial - Held: Accused-husband could not prove on the basis of letters allegedly written by the deceased that his relationship with the deceased was cordial-Acquittal of accused in complaint case filed against him later alleging commission of an offence by him u/ss. 405 & 406 IPC and ss. 3 & 4 of Dowry Prohibition Act not relevant as charges in the present case were not same - Apart from oral testimony of prosecution witnesses, the accused himself sent a telegraph message to his father-in-law to come immediately, which is a pointer to the fact that the spouses were not on good terms - A pregnant woman ordinarily would not commit suicide unless relationship with her husband reaches a stage that she would be compelled to do so - Accused could not explain his absence for six days since his wife committed suicide - Defence taken by the accused that he along with DW1 got the deceased admitted in the hospital, has not been established - No reason found to interfere with the judgment of conviction of accused u/s.304B IPC by the Courts below - Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973-S.313 - Evidence Act, 1872-S.65. Presence of accused-husband with deceased-wife in the hospital - Onus of proof - Held: Onus of proof lies upon the accused - Who has not discharged it. Compounding of an offence u/s. 304B IPC - Held: An offence u/s. 304B IPC is not compoundable. Conviction of accused u/s. 304B IPC - Quantum of sentence - Reduction to - Held: Not allowed as minimum sentence of seven years has been awarded to the accused.Appellant-husband and his parents allegedly tortured the deceased-wife for demand of dowry. A telegraphic message was sent by the accused-husband to his father-in-law to resolve the misunderstanding ensued between them. Later, brother-in-law of the deceased-PW1 along with his brother-in-Law-PW2 visited the house of the deceased, he found the accused quarreling with the deceased in connection with demand of dowry. He tried to pacify them and then left the house. When he came back, he found the house locked. On an enquiry having been made from the neighbours, he was informed that the deceased had been taken to hospital as she had consumed something. When he reached the hospital his sister had expired. The deceased was pregnant at the time of her death. On receipt of a report, Police investigated the matter and arrested the accused-husband. The trial Court convicted him under Section 304B of the Indian Penal Code and sentenced him to undergo rigorous imprisonment for seven years. An appeal filed thereagainst by the accused was dismissed by the High Court. Hence the present appeal. Accused-appellant contended that the relation between him and the deceased being cordial the prosecution cannot be said to have proved its case of causing harassment by him to the deceased; that the prosecution has not been able to prove demand of dowry; that father of the deceased in his previous statement did not state about the demand of dowry; that a complaint petition was later on filed by the father of the deceased against him under Sections 405 and 406 of the Indian Penal Code and Sections 3 and 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act which ended in acquittal by the trial Court and a revision, petition filed thereagainst by PW-11 was withdrawn, which clearly establishes innocence on his part; and that even after the conviction, a settlement had been arrived at by and between the parties and in fact the cousin of the deceased was married to the appellant whereafter an application for compromise had also been filed. |
Judge | Hon'ble Mr. Justice S.B. Sinha |
Neutral Citation | 2007 INSC 1286 |
Petitioner | Rameshwar Dass |
Respondent | State Of Punjab & Anr. |
SCR | [2007] 13 S.C.R. 527 |
Judgement Date | 2007-12-13 |
Case Number | 1021 |
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