( 1 ) THIS appeal is preferred by the State against the acquittal of the respondents, who were accused in Sessions Case No. 32/1988 on the file of iii Addl, Sessions Judge, Guntur. They were prosecuted for committing the murder cf Tata Siva Kumari. wife of the 1st accused and for other offences. The 2nd accused is the lather and the third accused is the mother of the 1st accused.

( 2 ) THE prosecution case is that the deceased Tata Sivakumari, aged about 20 years, was married to the 1st accused about three years prior to the date of occurrence ie. 26- 6-1987. At the time of the marriage the father of the deceased agreed to pay Rs. 6,000/-towards dowry to the 1st accused and rs. 500/-as gift to the sister of A-1 and also agreed to give domestic articles including a cut, but he paid only Rs. 2,000/-out of the dowry at the time of marriage and Rs. 500/- to the sister of A-1, promising to pav the balance of dowry amount within one year after the marriage. As the father of the deceased could not pay the balance of dowry of Rs. 4,000/- within the stipulated period of one year, all the accused started harassing and beating the accused on that account. The deceased went to her parents and represented to them about the ill treatment by the accused for the balance of the dowry amount and thereafter the father of the deceased paid Rs. 4,000/-, being the balance of the dowry amount, and Rs. 500/- rs interest for the said amount. Later, when A-l demanded a wrist watch and new clothes the father of the deceased gave him Rs. 1,000/- towards the same. About three days prior to 26-6-1987 the father of the deceased sent a tape-cot to the house of the accused, but the accused was dissitisfied on the ground that it is not a double-cot and started ill-treating the deceased. On the evening of 24-6-87 a-l went to the house of one Tata Raghavaiah and called the mother of the deceased and told her that she should send a double cot or its value and objected for sending a tape cot to him. On the morning of 25-6-1987 the accused ill-treated and harassed the deceased as her parents could not give double cot and sent her away to her parents house. The mother of the deceased by name Ede Bapamma sent the deceased back to the house of the accused telling that the matter will be settled by her father soon. On the night of 25-6-1989 all the accused strangulated the deceased by neck and killed her and kept the deadbody on the cot in their house keeping a Lungi tied to a bamboo beam to make it appeal that the deceased committed suicide with a view to suppress the evidence of murder and save them from punishment for the offence of murder. On receiving the information the parents of the deceased and others visited the house of the accused on the morning of 26-6-1987 and found the deceased lying dead on a cot. Thereafter the brother of the deceased gave a report to the police and after investigation a charge sheet was filed against all the accused.

( 3 ) FOUR charges were framed against the accused. The first charge is under Sec. 302 I. P. C. for committing murder of Tata Siva Kumari. The second charge is framed alternatively under Sec. 304-B I. P. C. for causing the death of Tata Sivakumari by subjecting her to cruelty and harassment for not getting desired dowry and as she was unable to bring double cot. The third charge is under Sec. 201 I. P. C, for screening the offence of murder. The fourth charge is under Sec. 498-A I P. C. for subjecting the deceased Siva kumari to ill-treatment and harassing her. The accused pleaded not guilty to all the charges. The prosecution has examined 12 witnesses. The learred Additional Sessions Judge after considering the evidence held that the deceased might have committed suicide due to strained domestic quarrels in a joint family due to her own extreme sensitiveness sentimentism and that none of the accused can he blamed for that. He found that none of the charges are eatablished by the prosecution and therefor