S.C. Das, J.

1. This criminal appeal is directed against the Judgment and Order of conviction and sentence dated 19.04.2007 passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Khowai, West Tripura in Sessions Trial No. S.T. 01 (WT/K) of 2007. On the charges framed against the accused-appellants under Section 498A and 306 read with Section 34 of I.P.C., learned Additional Sessions Judge found the appellants guilty of committing the offence and sentenced accused-appellant Shib Sundar Majumder to suffer S.I. for 1 year and to pay a fine of Rs. 1,000/- in default of payment to suffer S.I. for 3 months under Section 498A of I.P.C. The accused-appellant Sova Rani Majumder, under the said Section, has been sentenced to pay a fine of Rs. 2,000/- in default of payment to suffer S.I. for 6 months. For commission of offence under Section 306 of I.P.C., the accused-appellant Shib Sundar Majumder has been sentenced to suffer S.I. for 7 years and to pay a fine of Rs. 2,000/- in default of payment of fine to suffer further S.I. for 6 months. For the same offence under Section 306 of I.P.C., the accused-appellant Sova Rani Majumder has been sentenced to pay a fine of Rs. 5,000/- in default of payment of fine to suffer S.I. for 15 months. He further directed the sentences to run concurrently.

Being aggrieved, the convict-appellants preferred the present appeal.

2. Heard learned counsel, Mr. S. Sarkar for the appellants and learned Additional P.P., Mr. R.C. Debnath for the State respondent.

3. Fact of the case, in short, may be stated thus:-

3.1. Marriage between Dipali Debnath, daughter of the informant Sandhya Rani Debnath (P.W. 1) and accused Shib Sundar Majumder, was solemnized on 10.11.2003 and the marriage was registered with the Office of the Hindu Marriage Registrar, West Tripura, Agartala on 10.11.2003 itself (Exbt. 2). They had love affairs before marriage. The deceased Dipali used to reside in the house of the accused persons since few years before her marriage and that she was loved by the accused Sova Rani Majumder like her daughter. After marriage, Dipali lived and cohabited with her husband Shib Sundar Majumder in the matrimonial home, where, besides her husband, her mother-in-law Sova Rani Majumder also used to reside. A girl child namely, Rubi Majumder was also born after about one year of their marriage. Since after few days of marriage, Dipali was subjected to cruelty by the accused persons on demand of cash money, which she could not fulfill because of the poverty of her parents. She narrated about the cruelty exercised on her by the accused persons to her parents and sister on numerous occasions when she visited her parental home. On 05.02.2005, Dipali consumed organo phosphorus poison and she was taken to Teliamura hospital where doctor declared her dead. Post mortem examination was done over the dead body and on the date of the death itself P.W. 1, Sandhya Rani Debnath, mother of Dipali, lodged a written F.I.R. with the O.C., Teliamura P.S. alleging exercise of cruelty on demand of cash money, on her daughter Dipali and stated that the torture was so severe and unbearable for which Dipali committed suicide by taking poison.

3.2 On receipt of that F.I.R., O.C., Teliamura P.S. registered Teliamura P.S. Case No. 10 of 2005 under Section 498A and 306 read with Section 34 of I.P.C. and O.C. himself took up the investigation.

3.3 In course of investigation, material witnesses were examined by the I.O., marriage certificate was seized by preparing a seizure list and a bottle containing pesticide along with a glass containing smell of pesticide were also seized from the house of the accused by preparing seizure lists. I.O. also collected Post Mortem report from Teliamura hospital wherein it was indicated that the cause of death was because of consuming organo phosphorus poison and the viscera's of the victim was collected at the time of post mortem examination and later on, it was sent to State Forensic Science Laboratory for chemi