JUDGMENT

A.K. PATNAIK, J.

This is an appeal against the judgment dated 04-12-2006 of the Gujarat High Court in Criminal Appeal No. 1822 of 2006.

2. The facts very briefly are that Anitha @ Rinkudevi got married to the appellant No. 1 in the year 2002. Appellant Nos. 2 and 3 are the father and mother respectively of appellant No. 1. On 18-05-2004, Rinkudevi poured kerosene over her body and died out of burns.

Her brother Munnakumar lodged a complaint on 21-05-2004 before the Assistant Police Commissioner, 'J' Division, Ahmedabad City in which he alleged that Rinkudevi had written to him that the appellants were harassing her since two years after the marriage for not bringing dowry such as table, chair, sofa set, bed, scooter, colour T.V. and along with the complaint he produced xerox copy of a letter dated 16-02-2004 said to have been written by Rinkudevi. In the complaint, Munnakumar further alleged that the appellants were using slangs against Rinkudevi and used to beat her and were giving physical and mental harassment to her for not bringing dowry and instigated her to commit suicide by sprinkling kerosene on her body. The complaint was registered as FIR and after investigation, a charge sheet was filed against the appellants under Sections 304B, 498A and 306 read with Section 114, IPC.

3. At the trial, amongst other witnesses, Munnakumar was examined as PW3 and he proved not only his complaint (Ext. 25) but also the letter dated 16-02-2004 (Ext. 49) said to have been written by the deceased to him from Ahmedabad. The appellants led defence evidence through DW 1 who is said to have written a letter dated 23-02-2004 (Ext. 44) and the defence of the appellants was that the deceased was in Chaksiriya village with her brother's family in Bihar and was not at Ahmedabad on 16-02-2004 from where the letter (Ext. 49) is said to have been written by her to PW 3. The further case of the appellants in defence was that the deceased was a minor when she got married to the appellant No. 1 and she committed suicide because she wanted to remain with her parents in Chaksiriya village and did not want to live with the appellants at Ahmedabad. The Trial Court disbelieved the defence evidence and convicted the appellants under Sections 304B, 498A and 306, IPC on the basis of the evidence of PW 3 and Ext. 49 written by the deceased to PW 3 and Ext. 31 written by PW 3 to the deceased. The appellants challenged the findings of the Trial Court in the High Court in the Criminal Appeal, but the High Court maintained conviction of the appellants.

4. After hearing Mr. Haresh Raichura, learned counsel for the appellants, and Ms. Pinky Behara, learned counsel for the State, at length, we find that besides Ext. 49, there is no other evidence of a prosecution witness to establish that the appellants had, in any way, subjected the deceased to cruelty or harassment. In other words, the letter dated 16-02-2004 alleged to have been written by the deceased (Ext. 49) to PW 3 is the only evidence produced by the prosecution to prove that the appellants had subjected the deceased to harassment and cruelty in connection with demand for dowry. But, we have grave doubts

as to whether the said letter dated 16-02-2004 (Ext. 49) was at all written by the deceased to PW 3 for various reasons. The said letter dated 16-02-2004 is alleged to have been written by the deceased from Ahmedabad. PW 3 has not stated in his evidence specifically that on 16-02-2004 the deceased was at Ahmedabad. On the other hand, DW 1 has stated in his evidence that on 15-02-2004, his wife and he had gone to Chaksiriya village which was the home of his wife and they stayed at Chaksiriya up to 21-02-2004 and everyday they used to meet Munnakumar (PW 3) and the deceased and PW 3 wanted to send the deceased to Ahmedabad but the deceased was not willing to go to Ahmedabad and she used to say that if she is sent to Ahmedabad, she will commit suicide.

DW 1 has further stated in his evidence that he had writte