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High Court Of Calcutta
JITENDRA NATH CHAUDHURI, SUDHANSHU SEKHAR GANGULY
SHYAMA DEVI - Appellant
Versus
STATE OF WEST BENGAL - Respondent
Criminal Appeal 183 Of 1983
Decided On : 02/20/1987
CRIMINAL LAW - SECTION 306 IPC - ABETMENT OF SUICIDE - CONVICTION - FACTS AND CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE CASE - SUFFICIENCY OF EVIDENCE - INTERPRETATION OF SECTION 113-A OF THE EVIDENCE ACT - APPLICATION TO THE CASE.
Fact of the Case:
The appellant, Shyama Devi, was convicted under Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for abetting the suicide of her daughter-in-law, Rina. The prosecution alleged that the appellant and her son, Bijay, had demanded money and a tape recorder from Rina's parents as dowry, and that when the demands were not met, they subjected Rina to physical and mental torture, leading her to commit suicide. The appellant's son, Bijay, was acquitted by the trial court.
Finding of the Court:
The High Court found that the prosecution had failed to establish that the appellant had subjected Rina to physical or mental torture. The court noted that the evidence of the prosecution witnesses was inconsistent and unreliable, and that there was no independent corroboration of the allegations of torture. The court also found that the appellant and her son had demanded money and a tape recorder from Rina's parents, but that this alone was not sufficient to establish that they had abetted Rina's suicide.
Issues: 1. Whether the prosecution had established that the appellant had subjected Rina to physical or mental torture. 2. Whether the demand for money and a tape recorder by the appellant and her son was sufficient to establish that they had abetted Rina's suicide.
Ratio Decidendi: 1. The court held that the prosecution had failed to establish that the appellant had subjected Rina to physical or mental torture. The court noted that the evidence of the prosecution witnesses was inconsistent and unreliable, and that there was no independent corroboration of the allegations of torture. 2. The court held that the demand for money and a tape recorder by the appellant and her son was not sufficient to establish that they had abetted Rina's suicide. The court noted that the appellant and her son had been acquitted of the charge of dowry death, and that there was no evidence that they had intended to cause Rina's death.
Final Decision: The High Court allowed the appeal and acquitted the appellant of the charge of abetting suicide.
( 1 ) THE Criminal Appeal No. 183 of 1983 and Criminal Revision No. 2079 of 1983 have been preferred in respect of the selfsame judgment delivered by Shri B. P. Bose, the learned Judge, 10th Bench, City Sessions Court, Calcutta, in Sessions Trial No. 1 of May, 1983. The appellant Shyama Devi and her son, the opposite party, Bijay stood their trial before the learned Judge u/s 306 of the I. P. C. The learned Judge has convicted the appellant in the criminal appeal and acquitted the opposite party in criminal revision. Hence, the appeal from the side of the convicted mother and the Revisional Application from the side of the de facto complainant Smt. Usha Gupta against the acquitted son. The facts of the case leading to the present Appeal and Revision may be summarised as follows : -
( 2 ) ADMITTEDLY Rina, the youngest daughter of Gauri Shankar and Usha Gupta (P. W. 3 and the petitioner in the Criminal Revision) of Salkia, Howrah was married to Bijay, son of Babulal Gupta and Shyama Devi (accused appellant) of Hanspukuria Lane under Police Station-Burrabazar on 31-1-81. It is not disputed that after her marriage Rina started living with her husband at her father-in-law's place. It is also admitted that Usha and Mira Gupta went there on 15-7-81 when it was decided that Rina would go back to her father's place on 17-7-81 for spending there two months as per custom and that she committed suicide by hanging at her father-in-law's place in the afternoon of 16-7-81. On FIR (Ext. 6) lodged by Usha Devi (P. W. 3) that very day alleging that tortures mounted by Shyama Devi and Bijay on Rina on her parents' inability to pay a sum of Rs. 20,000/- and give a two-in-one tape-recorder on their demand led her to commit suicide, a case was started by the police against both of them and both were arrested.
( 3 ) BEFORE the learned Judge both Bijay and Shyama Devi stood charged u/s 306 IPC for abetting Rina to commit suicide by torturing her physically and/or mentally.
( 4 ) IN the trial that followed the prosecution examined Kannan Behari Chakraborty (P. W. 1 Police Photographer), Asoke Kumar Bhattacharya (P. W. 2 Official plan Maker), Dr. D. Marjit (P. W. 6, Senior Scientific Officer, Forensic Science Laboratory, Calcutta), Asoke Kumar Nandy (P. W. 7) Junior Assistant Chemical Examiner, Forensic Science Laboratory, Calcutta), Dr. Bhupal Chandra Mujumder (P. W. 9, the doctor who held the post-mortem examination on the dead body of Rina) to establish the death of Rina, by hanging. The prosecution also examined Usha Gupta (P. W. 3, Rina's mother), Janaki Gupta (P. W. 4, Rina's elder sister), Mira Gupta, (P. W. 5, Usha Gupta's younger sister), Gyan Shankar Gupta (P. W. 8, Rina's elder brother), Lal Chand Gupta (P. W. 10 husband of Mira Gupta, P. W. 5) and Asoke Kumar Gupta (P. W. 11) Rina's elder brother) to establish that demands were made from Rina's parents by Bijay and Shyama Deyi directly as well as through Rina for money and materials and that since their demands could not be satisfied by Rina's parents, Bijay and Shyama Devi mounted unbearable tortures on Rina which led her to commit suicide.
( 5 ) THE defence as it appears from the trend of cross-examination of the prosecution witnesses and the statements made by the two accused u/s 313 Cr. P. C. seems to be that Rina was treated quite well at their house. They never made any demand for money or material directly or through her to her parents nor did they mount any torture on her as alleged. On 10-7-81 Bijay and Rina attended the marriage of one Asoke Jaiswal at Salkia, Howrah. At that time Rina told Bijay that there was a talk of her being married to Asoke before she was actually married to Bijay. After that day Rina became very much moody, stopped talking freely and laughing and was absent-minded most of the times. On 16-7-81 Rina hanged herself in the afternoon in her bedroom bolting the door from inside. Bijay was out at that time and his parents were sleeping. The
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