Vague and general allegations of cruelty or harassment are insufficient for conviction under Sections 306 and 498-A IPC; specific instances must be established.

JUDGMENT :

(Rakesh Kainthla, J.)

The present appeals are directed against the judgment and order dated 11.11.2011, passed by learned Sessions Judge, Hamirpur, H.P. (learned Trial Court), vide which the appellants in both the appeals (accused before the learned Trial Court), were convicted of the commission of offences punishable under Sections 498-A and Section 306 of Indian Penal Code ( IPC ) and were sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for one year each, pay a fine of Rs.5000/- each and in default of payment of fine to undergo imprisonment for three months each for the commission of an offence punishable under Section 498-A of IPC . They were also sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for three years each, pay a fine of Rs.10,000/- each and in default of payment of the fine, to undergo rigorous imprisonment for six months each for the commission of an offence punishable under Section 306 of IPC . It was also ordered that the sentence of imprisonment on both counts shall run concurrently. (The parties shall hereinafter be referred to in the same manner as they were arrayed before the learned Trial Court for convenience).

2. Briefly stated, the facts giving rise to the present appeals are that the police presented a challan against the accused for the commission of offences punishable under Sections 498-A and 306 read with Section 34 of IPC . It was asserted that Shashi Bala (since deceased) was married to accused Ashok Kumar in January 2007 as per Hindu rites and customs. One daughter and one son were born to her and accused Ashok Kumar. The deceased used to visit the house of the informant Raghunath Singh (PW-3) and inform his wife about the beating given to her in her matrimonial home by the accused for bringing insufficient dowry. The parents of the deceased were residing in Surat. The deceased Shashi Bala visited the house of the informant in the first week of May. She resided in his house for ten days. She told Urmila Devi, wife of the informant and Sikendra Devi (PW-5) about the harassment and demand for dowry. She also informed them that the accused had given the articles provided to the deceased at the time of her marriage to her sister-in-law. Sashi Bala had an injury in her ear and she revealed that she had sustained this injury due to the beating given by the accused. The informant was told on 01.06.2010 at about 1:20 p.m. that Sashi Bala had consumed poison. She was taken to Hospital. A telephone message was given to the police. SI Ashwani Kumar (PW-10), ASI Onkar Singh (PW-8), HC Gulshan and LHHG Poonam went to CHC Nadaun to verify the correctness of the information. An entry (Ext.PW-10/A) was recorded in the Police Station Nadaun. The statement of the informant (Ext.PW-3/A) was recorded and sent to the Police Station where F.I.R. (Ext.PW-11/A) was registered. An Application (Ext.PW-1/A) was written to seek the opinion of the Medical Officer regarding the fitness of Sashi Bala to make a statement. Dr B.S. Rana (PW-1) found that Sashi Bala was restless and disoriented. She was unable to make the statement. He certified this fact on the application itself. He issued MLC (Ext.PW1/B) and sent her to RPGMC, Tanda for further management. Sashi Bala died on the way to the Hospital. The inquest on the dead body was conducted and the inquest report (Ext.PW-2/B) was issued. An application was filed for the post-mortem examination of the deceased. Dr Shalini Kapoor (PW-2) and Dr H. Singh conducted the post-mortem examination of the deceased. They found a bruise on the left T&M joint measuring 6 X 5cms. There were no other injuries. Viscera was preserved and handed over to the police official accompanying the deceased along with the belongings of the deceased. The viscera was sent to RFSL, Mandi at Gutkar and as per the report of RFSL, Mandi (Ext.PW-2/E), Phosphine gas (Phosphide) was detected in the viscera. A final opinion Ext.PW-2/F was issued stating that the deceased had died due to asphyxia caused by Pulmonary oedema