1. This appeal has been preferred against the judgment dated 26.4.1996 passed by Second Additional Sessions Judge, Seoni in S.T. No. 59/92, whereby each one of the appellants, though charged with the offences punishable under section 306 and in the alternative 498A of the IPC, was convicted under section 306 of the IPC and sentenced to undergo RI for 7 years and to pay fine of Rs. 5,000/- and in default, to suffer RI for 6 months.

2. Prosecution story, in short, may be narrated thus :

(i) Savitri Bai (since deceased), a resident of village Padhera, was the daughter of Gorelal (PW-l). Her marriage was solemnized with appellant No.1 Radhelal (hereinafter referred to as 'A1') nearly four

years prior to her untimely death. In the wedlock, they were blessed with a son.

(ii) At the relevant point of time, A1 was residing separately from his parents as, being a gambler, he had been thrown out of the parental house. Savitri had a happy married life for a period of about 3 years. Thereafter, she had been subjected to cruelty and harassment not only by A1 but also by his relative appellant no. 2 Seetaram (for short 'A2') for her failure to bring an amount of Rs. 5,000/- from her father. In such a situation, she was compelled to leave her matrimonial home. However, in the wake of assurance given by Sevaram (DW-1), the brother-in-law of A1, that the ill-treatment would not continue any further, Savitri was sent to A1's house only one-and half months prior to the incident in question.

(iii) Ultimately, in the night intervening 2nd and 3rd of May 1992, Savitri committed suicide presumably by consuming a poisonous substance.

(iv) Upon intimation given by A1 to the effect that Savitri died due to dehydration, a morgue (death case) was registered. After inquest proceedings, the dead body was sent to Community Health Centre at Ghansour. The post-mortem was conducted by a panel of doctors comprising Dr. Arjun Saxena (PW-3) and Dr. Hemant Chandravanshi. Expressing inability to give any definite opinion as to cause of Savitri's death, they preserved her viscera for histro-pathological and chemical examination.

(v) Gorelal produced a letter (Article 'A') containing instances of cruetly meted out to Savitri at the hands of both the appellants. In the light of the findings of the morgue inquiry, ASI O.P. Vinodia (PW-4) registered a case under section 306 of IPC by scribing the FIR (Ex. P-7).

3. The appellants abjured the guilt and pleaded false implication.

4. Legality and propriety of the impugned conviction have been challenged on the following grounds

(i) There was nothing on record to suggest that Savitri had committed suicide.

(ii) Letter (Article 'A') that was taken into account as one of the incriminating pieces of evidence was not proved to have been written either by the deceased herself or by any identifiable person at her instance.

In response, learned Panel Lawyer, has submitted that the conviction is well founded.

5. Although, Dr. Arjun Saxena (PW-3) proved existence of an ante-mortem bruise 2"x2" on the left upper buttock region of Savitri yet, he clearly admitted that the injury could be caused due to fall on or friction against hard surface. Further, the post-mortem report indicated (Ex. P-5) that Savitri's stomach, large intestine and bladder were empty and the Autopsy Surgeon did not rule out the possiblity that continuous vomiting and loose motion could be the cause for the aforesaid condition of the abdomen. He clearly admitted that the improperly treated victim has a high probability of dying due to dehydration. In such a situation, the core question was as to whether any poisonous substance was consumed by or administered to Savitri?

6. The disturbing feature of the case is that the report of Chemical Examiner indicating that on examination at the FSL, no chemical poison was detected in the viscera of the deceased, escaped consideration. Neither the Public Prosecutor nor the defence counsel bothered to bring the report to the notice