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High Court of Judicature at Madras
THE HONOURABLE MRS. JUSTICE ARUNA JAGADEESAN
G. Ravichandran
Versus
The Inspector of Police J4 Police Station, Chennai
Crl.A.No.155/2003
Decided On :29-01-2010
IPC - Criminal Appeal - Section 498A, Section 306 - Summary of Acts and Sections: The court discussed the provisions of Section 498A and Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code, focusing on the elements of cruelty, abetment of suicide, and the evidentiary requirements for establishing guilt under these sections.
Fact of the Case:
The deceased, a police constable, was married to the appellant who allegedly subjected her to cruelty, leading to her suicide. The prosecution alleged that the appellant's mistreatment of the deceased ultimately drove her to commit suicide.
Finding of the Court:
The court found that the evidence presented by the prosecution was unreliable and insufficient to prove that the appellant had abetted the suicide of the deceased. The court highlighted the discrepancies and omissions in the statements of the prosecution witnesses, ultimately leading to the acquittal of the appellant.
Issues: The key issues revolved around the alleged mistreatment of the deceased by the appellant, the reliability of the prosecution's evidence, and the sufficiency of evidence to establish abetment of suicide.
Ratio Decidendi: The court emphasized the need for reliable and consistent evidence to establish the elements of cruelty and abetment of suicide under Section 498A and Section 306 of the IPC. It also highlighted the importance of scrutinizing witness statements for discrepancies and omissions.
Final Decision: The court acquitted the appellant of all charges, citing the insufficiency and unreliability of the prosecution's evidence.
This Criminal Appeal is filed against the judgement dated 6.1.2003 passed in SC.No.411/2001 by the Magalir Neethimandaram at Chennai, convicting and sentencing the appellant for the offence under Section 498A of IPC to undergo two years Rigorous Imprisonment and to pay a fine of Rs.2000/-, in default to undergo Simple Imprisonment for two months and under Section 306 of IPC to undergo Rigorous Imprisonment for eight years and to pay a fine of Rs.20000/-, in default to undergo Simple Imprisonment for one year and ordering both the sentences to run concurrently.
2. The case of the Prosecution is as follows:-
a. The Appellant/A1 is the son of A2 and brother of A3 and the husband of the deceased Poongodi. The marriage between the deceased and the Appellant took place on 17.5.1999 and after the marriage, they were living at Kotturpuram, Chennai and the parents of the Appellant were residing in the second Floor at Flat No.14 and the Appellant and the deceased were living in the first floor. At the time of the marriage, the deceased was given 25 sovereigns of jewels and the Appellant was given 5 sovereigns of jewels apart from the house hold articles. The deceased was working as a constable in police service. The Appellant coerced the deceased not to go for her job and used to beat the deceased by consuming alcohol and suspected the fidelity of the deceased. The deceased informed about those cruelties to her father Varadarajan PW.3 and mother Kanniammal PW.4 and sister PW.5 Malarkodi.
b. On 5.7.2000, the grand father of the Appellant died and PW.3 had invited the Appellant and his family for a customary feast, for which except the Appellant, all of them attended. At that time, there was swelling over the face of the deceased. When questioned, the deceased replied that she was beaten by the Appellant. After finishing the dinner A2 and 3 went to their house along with the deceased. At about 1.30 in the night, there was a phone message that the deceased was admitted in the hospital and subsequently, she was brought back to the house. On visiting to their house, PW.1 found that her daughter was dead and PW.1 was informed by the neighbours that the deceased died due to hanging.
c. PW.1 went to the Kotturpuram Police Station and gave a complaint Ex.P1 to PW.7 Inspector of Police and on receipt of Ex.P1, PW.7 registered a case in Cr.NO.708/2000 for the offence under Section 174 Code of Criminal Procedure and prepared FIR Ex.P3 and case was entrusted to PW.9 the Assistant Commissioner of Police of Guindy Division.
d. PW.9 took up the case for investigation and went to the place of occurrence and prepare observation mahazar Ex.P10 and a sketch Ex.P12 and recovered a polyester saree MO.1 under mahazar Ex.P11 and examined the witnesses and recorded their statements and sent a request to the District Collector to conduct inquest.
e. PW.8 the Executive Magistrate on receipt of the requisition conducted inquest over the body of the deceased at Royapettah Hospital and examined the witnesses and recorded their statements and Ex.P3 is the statement given by PW.3 and Ex.P6 is the statement of A2 and Ex.P7 is the statement given by PW.1 and Ex.P8 is the inquest report prepared by PW.8, stating that the death of the deceased was not due to any demand for dowry and Ex.P9 is the final report sent by the Tahsildar.
f. PW.8 sent a requisition to the Doctor to conduct postmortem and based on the said request, PW.6 Dr.Ravindran conducted postmortem over the body of the deceased and found the following injuries apart from the injury which is peculiar to suicidal hanging:-
"(a) Contusion 2.5x2 cms seen over to upper inner quadrant of left breast.
(b) Contusion 3x4 cm over the left hypogastric region close to midline.
(c) Bruising of the scalp seen in the frontal region 2x3 cms."
and opined in the postmortem report Ex.P2 that the deceased died of Asphyzia due to hanging.
g. PW.9 altered the case into one under Section 498A and 306 of IPC and
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