JUDGMENT

NATARAJAN, J.:— Appeal No.477of 1978 by Special Leave and Appeal No. 288 of 1989 by Special Leave arising out of Special Leave (Crl.) Petition No. 250 of 1980 are directed against a judgment of the High Court of Punjab and Haryana in Criminal Appeal No. 670 of 1976 (reported in 1978 Chand LR (Cri) 224) whereunder a learned single Judge of the High Court had set aside the conviction of respondent Prem Chand and acquitted him of the charge under Section 306 I.P.C. The former appeal has been filed by the father of the deceased Veena Rani while the latter appeal has been filed by, the State of Punjab. The facts of the case are in brief as under :-

Deceased Veena Rani who died of burn injuries on 15-9-1975 was married to the respondent Prem Chand (hereinafter referred to as accused) in the year 1973. Veena Rani, who had passed the M.A. and B.Ed. degree examinations was employed in the State Bank of Patiala and was earning about Rs. 600/- to 700/- per month. The accused, who had obtained a degree in law was a prosecuting Sub-Inspector and soon after marriage he resigned his job and set up practice in his native place Sangrur. When the accused resigned his job and setup practice i