ANITA CHAUDHRY, J.

1. Challenge in this appeal is to the orders of conviction and sentenced, passed by the Additional Sessions Judge, Barnala on 13.02.2004/16.02.2004, vide which the husband, his two brothers and mother were sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of 10 years for commission of offence under Section 304-B alongwith a fine of Rs.5,000/- each. The accused were acquitted under Section 302/34 IPC.

2. During the pendency of the appeal, appellant no.2– Santosh Rani had died and her appeal had abated.

3. The facts as projected by the prosecution in nutshell is as follows:-

Meenu d/o Bhajan Lal was married to Dinesh on 03.12.1997. Meenu was a S. Teacher and was highly qualified. She gave birth to a child on 13.05.2000. Dinesh brought Meenu back from Malerkotla to Barnala on 23.06.2000. The allegations are that at the time of departure, the complainant had given gold ornaments and clothes of about Rs.40,000/-. While leaving, his daughter started weeping and did not want to go to the house of the in-laws and had told her parents that her mother-in-law, husband and Jeth (elder brother of her husband) would kill her or she would die on account of harassmen