T.V. Nalawade, J.

1. The appeal is preferred against the judgment and order of Sessions Case No. 82/1997 which was pending in the Court of the 3rd Additional Sessions Judge, Ahmednagar. The appellants are convicted and sentenced for offences punishable under sections 304-B, 306,498-A, 34 of the Indian Penal Code. Maximum sentence of imprisonment of 7 years is given to each of the appellant for offence punishable under section 304-B of the Indian Penal Code but no separate sentence is given for offence punishable under section 306 of the Indian Penal Code. Both the sides are heard.

2. The deceased Pushpa was a daughter of complainant, Raghu. She was educated up-to 8th Standard. She was given in marriage to appellant No. 1, Rajkumar (accused No. 1) on 2-5-1996. Appellant Nos. 2 and 3 (accused Nos. 2 and 3) are the parents of appellant No. 1. Appellants are residents of village Bhoirepathar and the complainant is resident of Kamargaon. The distance between the two villages is around 4 kilometers if shortcut road is used.

3. According to the complainant, dowry of Rs. 20,000/- was given by him to the appellants at the time of marriage. It is his case that after three months of the marriage, the appellants started making demand of Rs. 10,000/- and they were saying that they wanted to purchase a cross-breed cow by using this amount. There was ill-treatment to the deceased on this count and the deceased used to disclose about the ill treatment. After knowledge of the ill-treatment the complainant went to the place of the appellant and he promised them to give the amount after 5 to 6 months when he was likely to get some money after harvesting the crop. He tried to convince them to behave properly with the deceased.

4. After one month of the aforesaid incident, the deceased again visited the house of her parents and disclosed that the ill-treatment was continued to her as the demand of Rs. 10,000/- was not met with. She disclosed that the appellants were giving beating to her, they were starving her and they were harassing her by giving abuses. The complainant again visited the house of the appellants and promised to give the amount in near future and tried to convince them not to give ill-treatment to the deceased. The deceased visited the house of her parents on 2 to 3 more occasions and on every occasion she disclosed that still there was ill-treatment to her. Nandu, son of the complainant, visited the matrimonial house of the deceased and on that occasion also the deceased disclosed to him about the ill-treatment.

5. On 12-2-1997 the deceased lastly visited the house of her parents at 12.00 noon she disclosed that the accused had asked her to bring Rs. 10,000/- immediately from her parents as they wanted to purchase a cow. She disclosed that beating was given to her and she was sent to them to bring the money. She stayed in the house of her parents on that day. On 13-2-1997 Nandu reached the deceased to her matrimonial house. The complainant had asked Nandu and the deceased to inform the appellants that the promise will be fulfilled within one month.

6. The incident in question took place on the night between 13-2-1997 and 14-2-1997. Appellant No. 1 visited the house of the complainant on the morning of 14-2-1997 and informed that the deceased had left the matrimonial house at 6.00 a.m. for answering nature's call but she had not returned to home. Appellant No. 1 had come there in search of the deceased. He informed that he had already searched for the deceased in his village, Bhoirepathar.

7. The complainant, Nandu, Raosaheb (nephew of the complainant) and others went to Bhoirepathar, the village of the appellants. They made search in the water reservoir of the village and there they found the dead body of the deceased. The dead body was sent for post mortem examination. The deceased was not knowing swimming. The death took place due to asphyxia due to drowning. The report came to be given to police at 7.35 p.m. and the crime c