IMPORTANT POINT
To invoke section 304B of IPC ingredients thereof as also presumption u/s 113-B of Evidence Act has to be proved.

JUDGMENT

HEMANT GUPTA, J.

1) This appeal has been preferred against the judgment dated 21.01.2009, passed by the High Court of Punjab and Haryana at Chandigarh, by which the High Court has allowed the appeal of Savitri Devi, mother of the appellant and affirmed the conviction of the appellant passed by trial court on 12.12.1995 for the offence punishable under Section 304-B IPC. However, the High Court has reduced the sentence of the appellant from ten years to seven years looking to the fact that the appellant had suffered a protracted trial of more than 15 years.

2) The prosecution was set in motion on the statement of PW3 Sohan Lal/Complainant -father of the deceased as recorded by the Investigating Officer Assim Khan PW9. The Complainant stated that Mahesh Kumar got married to the deceased Omwati on 26.05.1991. But soon after the marriage, she was illtreated by her husband Mahesh Kumar, father-in-law Rajpal, mother-in-law Smt. Savitri and sister-in-law Kamlesh, as they demanded dowry. Complainant further claims that he gave dowry more than his capacity, even gave the accused a gold chain after one year of marriage, but they were still not satisfied and therefore they would beat the deceased. The deceased sent a letter to the complainant informing him about the same, after which, the complainant went to the village where his daughter was residing, met her and her in-laws and informed them that he was unable to satisfy their demand of dowry as it was beyond his capacity and that his daughter should not be harassed for bringing insufficient dowry. The complainant states that the deceased’s in-laws had tendered an apology at that time and her father-in-law executed the same in writing and promised to send her to her parental home on Raksha Bandhan. Subsequently, after the festival, she was sent back to her matrimonial house with the appellant, and at that time the complainant had given them a sum of Rs.1,000/-in cash. After about ten months, the appellant left the deceased at her brother Rajbir’s house and demanded Rs.5,000/-. It is further claimed that, on 03.02.1994, the Complainant paid Rs.2,000/-to the appellant when he came to take the deceased back with him and promised to pay the remaining amount soon, after arranging the same. At that time, the deceased had apparently expressed apprehension that her in-laws would not allow her to live, lest the demands are met. It was on 08.02.1994, that the complainant received information that his daughter, had expired in Civil Hospital, Gurgaon, and alleges that the same was caused by the administration of poison by the accused. An FIR was thus lodged on 09.02.1994, against the appellant, the deceased’s father-in-law Rajpal, mother-in-law Smt. Savitri and sister-in-law Kamlesh.

3) The investigation was conducted by Investigating Officer Assim Khan PW9 and all the four accused were arrested. After completing investigation, a report was filed in the Court of Judicial Magistrate First Class, Gurgaon who committed the case to the trial court. The charge was framed against all the four accused under Section 304B IPC. All the accused pleaded not guilty and claimed trial. The prosecution examined ten witnesses in all.

4) The trial court held that the letters written by the deceased with oral evidence in the form of statements of Complainant PW3 – Sohan Lal and PW4-Rajbir, brother of the deceased, are sufficient to establish that deceased was continuously harassed and met with cruelty on account of dowry and as such it is a case of dowry death. The trial court had come to the conclusion that the prosecution has proved its case only against Appellant/Mahesh Kumar, husband of the deceased and Savitri Devi, mother-in-law of the deceased whereas in respect of accused Rajpal and Kamlesh, the trial court held that no specific role is assigned to them and, therefore, they were given benefit of doubt and were acquitted.

5) Aggrieved against the order of trial court, accused Mahesh Kumar and Savit