2010 Supreme(SC) 136

2010 (2) Supreme 209
SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
P. Sathasivam and H.L. Dattu, JJ.
G.V. Siddaramesh — Appellant
versus
State of Karnataka — Respondent
Criminal Appeal No. 160 of 2006
Decided on : 5-02-2010

IMPORTANT POINTS
1. Mental cruelty is such that if the wronged party continues to stay with his/her spouse there is reasonable apprehension of injury to the wronged party.
2. Where there is material to show that soon before the death of woman, such woman was subjected to cruelty or harassment for or in connection with demand of dowry, then only a presumption can be drawn that a person has committed the dowry death of a woman.

Headnote:Indian Penal Code, 1860- Sections 498-A and 304-B- Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 - Section 4 -Dowry Death-Death of deceased in matrimonial home by hanging- Prosecution case that deceased committed suicide due to cruelty meted out to her by appellant husband and his father on account of unfulfilled Dowry demand- Trial Court while convicting appellant acquitted his father-Appeal-Partly allowed by High Court -Appeal- Post mortem report suggested that cause of death was shock and asphyxia as a result of hanging- Marriage between the deceased took place on 13.12.1997 and death of deceased took place on 17.1.998, which was within 7 year timeframe –Evidence on record that there was a demand for dowry prior to death of deceased, which was met by family of deceased- Evidence of PW-3 and PW2, the elder sister and brother of deceased that when she went to the matrimonial house of deceased on 17.1.1998 deceased confided in her that there was further demand of Rs. 50,000/- by way of dowry by appellant, and on account of failure to meet demand, she was being treated with cruelty and was harassed physically and mentally- The testimony of these two witnesses was consistent and very clear that deceased was indeed mentally disturbed, the day she committed suicide by hanging herself- The threats by husband of deceased over the course of two days, when the deceased was in her matrimonial home might have been enough for the deceased who was in a fragile state of mind to reach breaking point and end her life-Hence all the ingredients of Section 304-B had been satisfied, pointing towards guilt of appellant- Appellant was a young man and had already undergone 6 years of imprisonment after being convicted by Additional Sessions Judge and the High Court- In the facts and circumstances of the case, held that a sentence of 10 years rigorous imprisonment would meet the ends of justice- Hence while confirming conviction of appellant under Section 304-B IPC, sentence of imprisonment for life reduced to 10 years rigorous imprisonment- Appeal dismissed subject to said modification in sentence. (Paras 13, 16, 17)

        Words and Phrases- Cruelty -Cruelty can either be mental or physical- It is difficult to straight jacket the term cruelty by means of a definition, because cruelty is a relative term- What constitutes cruelty for one person may not constitute cruelty for another person- Mental cruelty is such that if the wronged party continues to stay with his/her spouse there is reasonable apprehension of injury to the wronged party. (Para 13)

       (AIR 1994 SC 710),relied

        Indian Penal Code, 1860- Sections 498-A and 304-B- Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 - Section 4 -Dowry Death-Death of deceased in matrimonial home by hanging- A reading of Section 113-B of the Evidence Act shows that there must be material to show that soon before the death of woman, such woman was subjected to cruelty or harassment for or in connection with demand of dowry, then only a presumption can be drawn that a person has committed the dowry death of a woman- It is then up to appellant to discharge this presumption-The appellant however had not brought on record anything substantial to dispel the theory of the prosecution- In fact, while filing application for grant of bail, the appellant had stated that the deceased was having an affair with another person before her marriage and since she could not marry him, she was in distress and, therefore, committed suicide- However there was no evidence brought on record to prove this theory- It is very much likely that the accused after witnessing the dead body of the deceased tried to hush up the matter and went to the Police Station much later-If this theory is to be true, this brings the suspicious behaviour of the appellant more to light, as the natural reaction to seeing the dead body of a wife who had come to her matrimonial home only 2 days earlier would be that of disbelief or shock- Instead by his own admission, he went and informed the sister of the deceased- The appellant also failed to produce anything on record to dispel the theory of the prosecution that there was a further demand of Rs. 50,000/- on his part- Appellant also failed to prove that there were demands for dowry immediately before the marriage and there were negotiations which took place involving both the families-All these circumstances pointed to the fact that appellant had not rebutted or discharged presumption-Hence held that appellant was guilty for the offence punishable under Section 304-B of the IPC, for being responsible for the death of his wife. (Para 15)

       Facts of the Case :

        Deceased herein in the instant case died in matrimonial home by hanging. As per Prosecution case deceased committed suicide due to cruelty meted out to her by appellant husband and his father on account of unfulfilled Dowry demand. Trial Court while convicting appellant acquitted his father. Appeal thereagainst was Partly allowed by High Court.

        2. Present appeal has been filed against said order of High Court.

       Findings of the Court :

        Post mortem report suggested that cause of death was shock and asphyxia as a result of hanging. Marriage between the deceased took place on 13.12.1997 and death of deceased took place on 17.1.998, which was within 7 year timeframe .Evidence on record showed that there was a demand for dowry prior to death of deceased, which was met by family of deceased. Evidence of PW-3and PW2, the elder sister and brother of deceased that when she went to the matrimonial house of deceased on 17.1.1998 deceased confided in her that there was further demand of Rs. 50,000/- by way of dowry by appellant, and on account of failure to meet demand, she was being treated with cruelty and was harassed physically and mentally. The testimony of these two witnesses was consistent and very clear that deceased was indeed mentally disturbed, the day she committed suicide by hanging herself. The threats by husband of deceased over the course of two days, when the deceased was in her matrimonial home might have been enough for the deceased who was in a fragile state of mind to reach breaking point and end her life. Hence all the ingredients of Section 304-B had been satisfied, pointing towards guilt of appellant. Appellant was a young man and had already undergone 6 years of imprisonment after being convicted by Additional Sessions Judge and the High Court. In the facts and circumstances of the case, held that a sentence of 10 years rigorous imprisonment would meet the ends of justice. Hence while confirming conviction of appellant under Section 304-B IPC, sentence of imprisonment for life reduced to 10 years rigorous imprisonment. Appeal was dismissed subject to said modification in sentence .

       Result : Appeal dismissed.