Ghanshyam Prasad, J.

1. Both appeals arise out of the same judgment and order dated 20.12.2002 passed by Shri N.P. Singh, Additional District and Sessions Judge, Sasaram in Sessions Trial No. 582 of 1997. Six persons including these appellants were put on trial for committing dowry death out of whom two ladies accused, namely, Deo Ratan Devi and Mira Devi have been acquitted. Rest four accused persons who are appellants have been convicted under Secs. 304-B and 201, IPC and are sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for ten years under Sec. 304-B, IPC and rigorous imprisonment for two years under Sec. 201, IPC with a direction that both the sentences shall run concurrently.

2. The prosecution story as revealed in fardbeyan Ext. 1 lodged by Smt. Shanti Devi (PW 4) is as follows : The deceased Ram Kali Devi, daughter of the informant was married with accused appellant Upendra Singh in the year 1992-93. After two years of the marriage the ceremony of Donga (second marriage) was performed on 19.11.1995. Thereafter, the deceased came to her husband#25;s place and began to live with him. It is alleged by the informant that since very beginning the accused appellants were demanding T.V. as dowry from her to which she expressed her enability to meet.

3. It has been further alleged that in the last week of June, 1996 the informant received a secret information regarding murder of her daughter by her husband and in-laws. Thereafter, she sent her son Niranjan Kumar Singh (PW 1) to the place of accused appellants to enquire about her daughter Ram Kali Devi and then she came to know that her daughter was actually murdered on 27.6.1996 by the accused appellants and her dead body was secretly disposed of without giving any information to her and her family members. It has further been alleged that when PW 1 tried to ascertain about the facts of her death he was driven out by the accused appellants and they told him that they would fight cases even by selling their lands.

4. On the basis of written report dated 2.7.1996 of the informant Shanti Devi (PW 4) the police registered case against all the six persons under Secs. 304-B/201, IPC and after investigation submitted charge-sheet under the above sections.

5. In course of the trial, the prosecution examined as many as eight witnesses including the informant, PW 4 Shanti Devi, her son PW 1 Niranjan Kumar Singh and I.O. PW 7 Saheb Saran Sharma. Other witnesses are PW 2 Anil Singh, PW 3 Pappu Kumar Singh, PW 5 Shyam Kishore Singh, PW 6 Ajay Singh and PW 8 Raj Kumar Singh.

6. Defence was total denial of the occurrence. It was denied that demand of dowry was ever made to the informant or anybody nor the deceased was murdered for any dowry demand. The real fact was that the deceased Ram Kali Devi all of a sudden fell ill and developed symptom of diarrhoea, stomach pain and vomiting. She was immediately removed to the clinic of Dr. Vijay Kumar Singh at Kakkata were she died in course of the treatment. It was further averred that the deceased was cremated in presence of the informant and her other family members. In support of their defence, they examined six witnesses including the doctor as DW 5 Vijay Kumar Singh. Other witnesses DW 1 Jitendra Singh, DW 2 Surendra Singh, DW 3 Ramadhar Singh, DW 4 Gopalji Singh and DW 6 Lallan Prasad Singh.

7. In course of the argument, it is submitted on behalf of the appellants that the Court below has not properly appreciated either oral or the documentary evidence adduced on behalf of both the parties. It is further submitted that all the ingredients of Sec. 304-B, IPC have not been proved and so no presumption of #28;dowry death#29; can be known under Sec. 113-B of the Indian Evidence Act.

8. In order to appreciate properly the prosecution case as well as its evidence, here I would like to reproduce Sec. 304-B, IPC:

#28;304-B. Dowry death. (1) Where the death of a woman is caused by any burns or bodily injury or occurs otherwise than under normal c