Case Facts:
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA Criminal Revision No.135 of 2010 =========================================================== Shobha Devi, wife of Bachhelal Gupta, resident of village- Jaitpura, Police Station- Jaitpura, District- Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh). .... .... Petitioner Versus The State of Bihar .... .... Opposite Party With Criminal Revision No. 383 of 2010 =========================================================== Bachey Lal Gupta S/O Late Sitaram Gupta Resident of J-8/54, A-1, Jaitpura, P.O. & P.S.- Jaitpura, Distt.- Varanasi ( U.P. ) .... .... Petitioner Versus The State of Bihar .... .... Opposite Party With Criminal Revision No. 384 of 2010 =========================================================== Om Prakash Gupta S/O Sh. Bachey Lal Gupta Resident of J-8/54, A-1, Jaitpura, P.O. & P.S.- Jaitpura, Distt.- Varanasi ( U.P. ) .... .... Petitioner Versus The State of Bihar .... .... Opposite Party =========================================================== Appearance: (In CR. REV. No.135 of 2010) For the Petitioner : Mr. Sumant Singh, Advocate. For the State : Mr. Anuj Kumar Shrivastava, A.P.P. (In CR. REV. No.383 of 2010) For the Petitioner : Mr. Sumant Singh, Advocate. For the State : Mr. Ramchandra Singh, A.P.P. (In CR. REV. No.384 of 2010) For the Petitioner : Mr. Sumant Singh, Advocate. For the State : Mr. A.H.M. Rahman, A.P.P. =========================================================== CORAM: HONOURABLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE ORAL JUDGMENT Date: 19th July 2012 These three Revision Applications preferred under section 397 read with Section 401 of the Code of Criminal Procedure arise from the judgment and order dated 15th December 2009 passed Patna High Court CR. REV. No.135 of 2010 dt.19-07-2012 2 / 4 2 by the learned Additional District and Sessions Judge, Fast Track Court-IV, Buxar in Criminal Appeal No. 34 of 2008. The petitioner in Criminal Revision No. 384 of 2010 Om Prakash Gupta, a resident of Varanasi, was married to one Anita Gupta @ Soni Gupta of Buxar on 15th February 1997. Gajendra Prasad Gupta (PW-4), father of the said Anita, filed Complaint Case No. 84 of 2000 in the court of learned Sub Divisional Judicial Magistrate, Buxar in respect of mental and physical torture suffered by the said Anita at the hands of her husband Om Prakash Gupta and his parents Shobha Devi, the petitioner in Criminal Revision No. 135 of 2010 and Bachey Lal Gupta, the petitioner in Criminal Revision No. 383 of 2010 and Kumari Devi @ Raj Kumari Devi, the grand- mother of the husband Om Prakash Gupta and Minoo Kumari @ Dubeshwari, the unmarried sister of the husband Om Prakash Gupta. He complained that the said Anita was subjected to the mental and physical torture. She was asked to bring a car and a sum of Rs. 50,000/- from her father. Pursuant to the said complaint, the accused were tried in Trial No. 241 of 2008. In the trial, the complainant examined himself (PW-4), the victim Anita (PW- 3), the driver of the complainant (PW- 2) and an advocate (PW-1). The said witnesses, Anita (PW-3) and Gajendra Prasad Gupta (PW-4) reiterated that the said Anita was subjected to mental and physical torture. The said Anita had also suffered injuries. She was not allowed to talk to her father unless she brought a car and Rs. 50,000/- from her father. The learned Sub Divisional Judicial Magistrate, Buxar by his judgment and order dated 2nd August 2008 held that the offence against the husband and the parents-in-law, the revision petitioners, was proved. He , therefore, convicted the said Patna High Court CR. REV. No.135 of 2010 dt.19-07-2012 3 / 4 3 accused for the offence punishable under [STATUTE] and imposed sentence of simple imprisonment for three years and a fine of Rs. 1000/-. Feeling aggrieved by the conviction recorded by the learned Sub Divisional Judicial Magistrate and the sentence of imprisonment and fine, the convicts preferred Criminal Appeal No. 34 of 2008 in the court of the learned Additional District and Sessions Judge Fast Track Court-IV, Buxar. The lower appellate court has, by impugned judgment and order dated 15th December 2009, confirmed the conviction of the appellants. However, having regard to the mental and financial harassment suffered by the convicts the court was of the opinion that they do not deserve the maximum punishment. The sentence imposed upon the revision petitioner Shobha Devi, the mother-in-law, was reduced to simple imprisonment for one year. In respect of the convicts, the husband and the father-in-law, the revision petitioners in Criminal Revision No. 384 of 2010 and Criminal Revision No. 383 of 2010, the sentence has been reduced to simple imprisonment for two years. Feeling aggrieved, the convicts have preferred the above Revision Applications before this Court. The complaint and the evidence on record have been read over before me. It appears that in support of the alleged atrocities meted to the victim Anita, no witness except herself and her father has been examined. The evidence of PW-1 Surendra Kumar Choubey, the Advocate and PW-2 Keshav Prasad, the driver, do not support the complaint of atrocities or ill treatment. Except the bare statement made by the victim Anita and her father, no other evidence has come on record. In the cross-examination, although she said that she had been given medical treatment by her father, no medical evidence Patna High Court CR. REV. No.135 of 2010 dt.19-07-2012 4 / 4 4 has been brought on record. It has also come on record that since her marriage, barring the first few days during which her father was also present there, the said Anita hardly stayed at her matrimonial house. Although she has complained of physical assault and burn injury, no medical proof has been produced in support thereof. In my opinion, on the scanty evidence on record, it would not be safe to hold the accused guilty of the alleged offence. For the aforesaid reasons, the criminal revision applications are allowed. Th

Applicable IPC Section: 498A

Statute Text:
Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code. Punishment for subjecting a married woman to Cruelty. Whoever, being the husband or the relative of the husband of a woman, subjects such woman to cruelty shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years and shall also be liable to fine.