IMPORTANT POINT
The court upheld the framing of charges against the accused based on prima facie evidence of involvement in dowry-related harassment and the victim's suspicious death.

JUDGMENT :

Budi Habung, J.

Heard Mr. M.A. Shiekh, learned counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioners. I have also heard Mr. D.D. Das, learned Addl. P.P. State of Assam.

2. By filing this criminal revision petition under section 401 of the Cr.P.C., the petitioners are challenging the order dated 05.4.2021, passed by the Sessions Judge, Morigaon, Assam, in Sessions Case No.29/2021. By this order, charges were framed against both the accused/petitioners under sections 302/34 and alternatively under section 306/34 and 498 (A)/34 of the IPC.

3. The brief fact of the case is that on 31.7.2018, the father of the deceased Md. Mainul Islam, lodged a written FIR before the Officer In charge of the Baribazar Police Out Post, stating that 10 months earlier, his daughter Masuma Begum was married to the accused petitioner No.1 Raisuddin, in accordance with social customs. However, after one month of their marriage, a quarrel occurred between them. On 30.7.2018, the accused petitioner No.1 informed his maternal uncle, Md. Araj Ali, via telephone that his daughter Masuma Begum had committed suicide and had been taken to Dhing Hospital. Upon receiving this information, they went to Dhing hospital and found their daughter deceased. The informant suspects that the accused and his family may have killed his daughter and staged her hanging. Based on the written FIR, a case, Mikirbheta PS Case No. 279/2018, has been registered under sections 302/34 IPC and investigated into.

4. Upon completion of the investigation, the Investigating Officer submitted a charge sheet against the accused petitioners, having found sufficient evidence against them to face trial for offence under section 302/34 of the IPC, and alternatively under section 306/34 IPC read with section 498 (A)/34 IPC. Since the case is exclusively triable by the sessions Court, it was committed to the Court of Sessions Judge, Morigaon, Assam. After hearing the parties and perusing the police report, the judge found sufficient materials to presume that the accused persons had committed the alleged offences punishable under section 302/34 IPC and, alternatively, under section 306/34 IPC read with section 498 (A)/34 IPC. The charges framed were read over and explained to the accused persons, to which they pleaded not guilty and claimed to be tried.

5. Being aggrieved and dissatisfied with the impugned order dated 5.4.2021, and the framing of charges against the accused petitioners under two alternative heads by the Sessions Judge, Morigaon, in Sessions Case No.29/2021, the petitioners filed this criminal revision petition on the following grounds: -

(i) the post-mortem report and cause of the death of the deceased, as elucidated by the Medical Officer, clearly proves that it was a case of suicide committed by the deceased by consuming poison. As such, no case under section 302 IPC is made out against the accused persons. Therefore, by framing of charges under section 302/34 IPC, against the petitioners, the learned Sessions judge has committed an illegality.

(ii) there is no evidence of torture of the victim by the accused petitioners, and there is no evidence of abatement for the commission of suicide by the victim through consuming poison or by hanging herself. As such, there is no legal ground to frame charges under section 306/34 IPC read with sections 498/34 IPC.

(iii) there is no evidence that the poison found in the victim’s stomach was administered by the petitioners. Therefore, the impugned order is flawed in the eyes of law and is liable to be quashed and set aside.

6. The learned counsel for the petitioner submits that during investigation, the investigating officer (I.O) recorded statements, from the informant as well as the witnesses under section 161 Cr.P.C. The witnesses who saw the dead body of the deceased clearly stated that they observed the victim hanging by the neck a bamboo rafter inside the house. They removed the rope and lowered the body, and at that time, the deceased was