JUDGMENT :

1. This is an appeal by way of special leave granted by this Court under Article 136 of the Constitution against the judgment and order dated 18th July, 2005 of the Karnataka High Court passed in Criminal Appeal No. 515 of 1999. The facts very briefly are that within one and half years of the marriage of Parvetavva with the Appellant No. 1, Parvetavva consumed poison and died on 3rd December, 1991. An F.I.R. was lodged by the brother of the deceased Parvetavva and pursuant to the F.I.R. a case was registered by the police and after investigation, charge-sheet was filed against the Appellants under Sections 498A and 304B read with Section 34, Indian Penal Code and Section 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961. The Appellants, namely, the husband of the deceased, his mother and sister were tried and at the trial before the Principal Sessions Judge, Belgaum, the elder brother of the deceased was examined as PW-1, the mother of the deceased was examined as PW-4, a friend of brother of the deceased was examined as PW-6 and a witness to an alleged marriage agreement (Ext. P 1) was examined as PW-11.

2. The prosecution case before the Trial Court was that under the alleged marria