Judgment

Arijit Pasayat, J.—Menace of dowry outs across caste, religion and geographical location. In the instant case, victim belonged to a remote village in the State of Kerala. The two appellants stood charged for alleged commission of offence punishable under Section 304B read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (in short ‘the IPC’). The trial Court found that the prosecution has failed to establish the accusations and directed their acquittal.

2. In appeal preferred by the State, the judgment of acquittal was set aside and the accused persons were found guilty under Section 304B read with Section 34 IPC and each was sentenced to undergo RI for seven years.

3. The victim in this case was one Sherifa (hereinafter referred to as ‘the deceased’) and the accused-appellants 1 and 2 were her husband and mother-in-law respectively.

4. According to the prosecution following is the factual scenario:

The deceased was married to the appellant No.1 (A-1) on 19.1.1989. At the time of marriage, there was an agreement to pay Rs. 35000/- as dowry. Since the entire amount was not paid, the accused was subjected to mental and physical harassment. On 29.8.1991 about 9.00 a.m. she commi