(1) CRIMINAL No. 919 of 1981 is directed against the judgment dated 29/5/1981 passed by the High court of Punjab and Haryana in Criminal No. 604 of 1979. The said appeal was preferred by the respondents who were convicted by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Amritsar on 23/4/1979, in Sessions Trial No. 11 of 1979 on a charge under Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code. The accused Kuldip Singh and his son Gurdip Kumar and his wife Darshan Kaur were convicted under Section 306 Indian Penal Code by the learned Additional Sessions Judge. Kuldip Singh and Gurdip Kumar were sentenced to four years rigorous imprisonment with a fine of Rs. 500.00 in default to suffer further imprisonment for three months, but Darshan Kaur was sentenced to three years rigorous imprisonment with a fine of Rs. 500.00 in default to suffer further imprisonment for three months.

(2) ACCORDING to the prosecution case, the deceased Jyoti Bala was given in marriage on 12/2/1978 at Arnritsar to accused Gurdip Kumar. but shortly after the said marriage, the deceased was ill-treated by the accused as the accused felt that proper dowry had not been given by the family of the deceased. It is also the case of the prosecution that Shakuntla Devi, Public Witness 14, the sister of the mother of the deceased and Vijay Kumar, Public Witness 5, the son of Shakuntia Devi were the residents of Arnritsar. When the deceased, her sister and mother attended the marriage ceremony of Vijay Kumar at Amritsar, the deceased and her mother came in touch with the family of the accused who are also known to the family of Shakuntla Devi and Gurdip Kumar was also a friend of Vijay Kumar. Having seen the deceased, Gurdip and his parents had liked the deceased Jyoti Bala and accordingly the proposal of marriage was finalised and the marriage was solemnised on 12/2/1978 at Amritsar itself. It is the prosecution case that Jyoti Bala used to go to her aunt, Shakuntla Devi and Shakuntla Devi also used to go to Jyoti Balas house but the family of the accused did not like Jyoti Balas going to her aunts house or the members of the aunts family visiting the house of the accused. Being oppressed mentally Jyoti Bala ultimately committed suicide on 28/7/1978 and being severely burnt, she was admitted to the hospital where she succumbed to the injury on 30/7/1978.

(3) THE mother of the deceased Public Witness 4, the aunt of the deceased, Public Witness 14 and the cousin brother of the deceased Vijay Kumar, Public Witness 5 have deposed that the accused had been making demands on account of dowry and on one occasion in Calcutta a sum of Rs. 5,000.00 had been paid by Public Witness 4, the mother of the deceased, but such payment did not satisfy their demand and Jyoti Bala used to be taunted and oppressed. Public Witness 6 Madhuban has been examined by the prosecution and the said Madhuban has stated that only about 15 minutes before the incident, he had been to his friends house which was very close to the house of the accused and therefrom he heard some noise coming from the house of the accused and he heard that Jyoti Bala was being instigated to commit suicide by burning or by drowning.

(4) IT also appears that a number of letters written by the deceased to her mother and sister in Calcutta and letter written by the mother to the deceased have been exhibited in this case and such letters are of April 4, May 29, July 18 and 27, 1978. The letter dated 18/7/1978 is written by the mother of the deceased to the deceased and the letter dated 27/7/1978 had been written by the deceased Jyoti Bala to her mother. The learned Additional Sessions Judge came to the finding that Jyoti Bala had been ill-treated and when for a number of days she had not taken meal, nobody from amongst the accused had asked Jyoti Bala to take food and they neglected her. The learned Additional Sessions Judge also came to the finding that demand of dowry had been made by the accused and the little gi