Judgment

PATHAK, J. :- The petitioner, Shri Bhagwant Singh, has applied to this Court for relief in the matter of the death of his married daughter, Gurinder Kaur.

2. Shri Bhagwant Singh is a member of the Indian Revenue Service. His daughter, Gurinder Kaur, was one of three children. She was an intelligent and talented girl who secured a first division in the Senior Combridge Examination and had obtained a B. Sc. (Home Science) Degree from Lady Irwin College. She was endowed with good looks and a pleasing personality and her education and department attracted notice. It is, apparent that the father was proud of his daughter.

3. Shri Bhagwant Singh and Shri Kartar Singh Sawhney were colleagues in the office. They had been friends for over thirty years. Shri Kartar Singh has a son, Amarjit Singh. The family lived at J-7/93, Rajouri Garden, New Delhi. The son ran a motor parts shop at Kashmere Gate, Delhi. It appears that the two colleagues decided on a marriage between Gurinder kaur and Amarjit Singh in view of the close association of the two families.

4. From the very beginning, it seems, Shri Bhagwant Singh was opposed to the evils of the dowry system and the sentiment was also deepl