HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE G. BHAVANI PRASAD CRIMINAL REVISION CASE No.1746 OF 2004 Dated:19-12-2011 Between: Sannegalla Anuradha Vijayalakshmi …. Petitioner AND The State of Andhra Pradesh, Rep. by Public Prosecutor, High Court ofA.P., Hyderabad, (Through S.H.O., P.S. Gurazala, Cr.No.37/2001) and another …. Respondents HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE G. BHAVANI PRASAD CRIMINAL REVISION CASE No.1746 OF 2004 JUDGMENT: This Criminal Revision Case is directed against the acquittal of the 1st accused in Criminal Appeal No.129 of 2002, on the file of the VII Additional Sessions Judge, Guntur, dated 20-05-2004 in respect of the offence punishable under Section 498-A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (for short ‘IPC’), reversing the conviction and sentence imposed on him by the II Additional Munsif Magistrate, Gurazala, in C.C. NO.113 of 2001 by the judgment, dated 22-03-2002. 2. The factual background is that in crime No.37 of 2001 of Gurazala Police Station, the Sub-Inspector of Police filed charge sheet against the three accused, who are the husband and parents-in-law of the revision petitioner herein alleging that the marriage of the 1st accused and the revision petitioner was performed on 02-07-1999 and the 2nd and 3rd accused treated the revision petitioner cruelly for additional dowry due to dissatisfaction with the dowry of Rs.90,000/- paid by the parents of the revision petitioner. When the revision petitioner was carrying three months pregnancy, the accused attempted to administer plant sap to her to get a male child and during her ninth month of pregnancy, they compelled her to have Sreemantham at Chilakaluripet against doctor’s advice. The 1st accused wrote a letter on 16-04-2001 stating that the revision petitioner, her brother and parents will be responsible for his death and when the revision petitioner tried to take the said letter, he attempted to stab her with knife. Chintapalli Vasudevarao, the house owner, and D.Seshagiri Rao, a neighbour, rescued the revision petitioner and sent her to her parents’ house. The accused further demanded the revision petitioner for payment of additional dowry on the birth of a female child and the Investigating Officer, after examining all the witnesses, arrested the accused and remanded them to the judicial custody. They were released on bail by the Court and hence, the charge. 3. After the Court took cognizance of the offence, copies of documents were furnished to the accused on their appearance and they denied the offence and the charge, when they were examined under Section 239 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (for short ‘Cr.P.C.) On their plea of not guilty to the charge under Section 498-A IPC, the prosecution examined PWs.1 to 6 and marked Exs.P-1 to P-3 during trial. The accused denied all the incriminating circumstances appearing in the evidence against them when they were examined under section 313 Cr.P.C. and Exs.D-1 to D-4 were marked on their behalf. 4. The trial Court, in its judgment, dated 22-03-2002, noted that PWs.1 and 2 were contradicted by PW-6 as to whether PW-1 alone or PWs.1 and 2 together went to the police station for giving Ex.P-1 report. The trial Court also referred to some discrepancies surrounding the presentation of report and process of investigation by PW-6, which were considered insignificant. The trial Court, however, noted that the only independent witness PW-5 turned hostile and without reason, the other independent witness cited, was given up by the prosecution. The trial Court also noted that any lapses in investigation cannot by themselves come to the aid of the accused and observed that before Ex.P-1 was presented to police, there was consultation with PW-4 who is an Advocate, but PW-4 is none other than the brother of PW-1 and hence, the same was not considered fatal. The trial Court also referred to the alleged delay in giving Exs.P-1 and P-3 to the Magistrate, but considered that each case has to be appreciated on its facts and circumstances and delay is not fatal in this case. The trial Court referred to the circumstances, which justified such delay and more so, in view of the birth of female child to PW-1 before the lady approached the police. The contradictions - Exs.D-1 to D-4 marked on behalf of the accused were also considered not material and the trial Court noted that the evidence of PW-2 cannot be relied on as he admitted his signature in an inland letter shown to him and while considering PWs- 3 and 4, who are residing in the same house, to be natural witnesses, the trial Court referred to the alleged incidents that occurred at the time of the third and ninth months of the pregnancy of PW-1. The trial Court found that the evidence of PWs-1, 3 and 4 in this regard was without any contradiction or omissions and when the acts of cruelty had taken place inside the marital home, the trial Court found no reason to disagree with them. The trial Court, therefore, convicted the 1st accused, as there was clinching evidence against him. However, insofar as the 2nd and 3rd accused, the parents-in-law are concerned, the trial Court found that they were residing at Chilakaluripet and were only visiting the 1st accused and PW-1 now and then. The trial Court also found that the grand-parents presented a gold chain to their grand-daughter at the time of cradle ceremony and that criminal intention to harass PW-1 cannot be presumed to be present in the 2nd and 3rd accused. Therefore, the trial court felt that the accused 2 and 3 should be acquitted and the 1st accused should be convicted for the offence punishable under Section 498-A IPC. 5. After examining the 1st accused on the quantum of sentence and holding that the provisions of section 360 Cr.P.C. could not come to the aid of the 1st accused, the trial Court sentenced the 1st accused to undergo rigorous imprisonment for three years and pay a fine of Rs.1,000/- with default sentence of three months, but benefit of set off under section 428 Cr.P.c. was given to him. 6. In the appeal against the said conviction and sentence by the 1st accused, the Court of VII Additional Sessions Judge, Guntur, in the impugned judgment again referred to the factual background and considered whether the conviction and sentence are liable to be set aside or confirmed. 7. The appellate Court found that the relationship between the parties is admitted and the only independent witness - PW-5 turned hostile. The appellate Court also noted that the evidence of PW-2, father of PW-1, was not relied on by the trial court. The only evidence of PWs.1, 3 and 4 was left to be depended upon. The appellate Court observed that PWs-1 to 4 did not state about the nature of ill treatment and harassment by the 1st accused alone, when they stated the harassment and cruelty to be by all the three accused. The demand for additional dowry without anything further was also considered to be not amounting to cruelty by the appellate Court and the appellate Court also noted that Ex.P-1 - report did not mention the claim of PW-1 that she was abused and beaten when she refused to have some plant sap poured into her nostrils and ears to enable her to give birth to a male child. PW-1 was noted to have not stated the same to the Investigating Officer - PW-6 also and PWs.2 and 3 were also noted to have not specifically stated as to what specific harassment was meted out to PW-1 by the accused 1 to 3. Referring to the definition of cruelty under Section 498-A IPC, the appellate Court further found that insisting on PW-1 to have Sreemantham at an advanced stage of pregnancy, which is an auspicious function in any family, could not be treated as harassment. Any dispute regarding the same could not have amounted to cruelty. The appellate Court also found that the daughter of PW-1 was fair in colour and therefore, any demand by accused 1 to 3, as alleged by the prosecution, to get more money so as to enable the black daughter to be married when she attains the age of 18 years, was also considered by the appellate Court to be unbelievable. The appellate Court also found that the demand by the 1st accused to send his wife back to him after the marriage of the elder brother of PW-1 could not have been considered as cruelty and similar were the allegations of PW-1 about the 1st accused attempting to stab her with knife not corroborated by the house owner - PW-5 and the other independent witness was given up by the prosecution. The evidence of PWs-1 to 3 and 6 was, hence, considered by the appellate Court to be not sufficient to prove the ingredients of Section 498-A IPC and when the evidence was found deficient in so far as the guilt of 2nd and 3rd accused are concerned, it could not have been considered sufficient in respect of the 1st accused. The alleged illegal demands were not shown to have resulted in any physical violence against PW- 1 and none of the alleged incidents were, hence, considered by the appellate Court to have proved the offence by the 1st accused also. Consequently, the appeal was allowed setting aside the conviction and sentence. 8. The revision case is filed challenging the said acquittal, contending that the findings of the appellate Court were contrary to the evidence on record and the discrepancies relied on by the appellate Court, giving credence to the hostility of PW-5 and ignoring the consistent evidence of PWs-2 to 4 corroborating each other and the evidence of PW-1, were not material and the revision petitioner pleaded that the conduct of the 1st accused was such as would clearly come within the meaning of Section 498-A IPC and hence, she desired the acquittal to be reversed confirming the conviction and sentence by the trial Court. 9. When the criminal revision case came up for hearing, as the learned counsel who filed the criminal revision case on behalf of the revision petitioner has now become the Public Prosecutor, the criminal revision petitioner was stated to have been informed to engage some other counsel. This court had given more than five opportunities to enable the criminal revision petitioner to engage any other counsel and on 29-11-2011 a notice was also issued to the revision petitioner through the Registry for her appearance on 19-12-2011 i.e., today. The revision petitioner did not enter her appearance. Hence, there is no alternative for the Court except to proceed to decide the matter on hearing Sri Sricharan Telaprolu, learned counsel for the 2nd respondent, and Sri K. Venkateswara Rao, learned counsel, representing the learned Public Prosecutor, for the 1st respondent. 10. The point for consideration is whether the acquittal of the first accused by the appellate Court is liable to be reversed in this revision? 11. While taking note of the restricted scope of the revisional jurisdiction of the Court to interfere with the judgment of acquittal on merits, it is to be noted that even the trial Court in its judgment had noted that even the claims regarding the persons who went to the police station for giving Ex.P-1 – report, at the earliest point of time were contradictory with PWs-1 and 2 claiming that both of them have gone to the police station, while the Investigating officer contended that PW-1 alone came to the police station. The trial Court itself had noted the various circumstances surrounding the registration of the crime on such report and the further investigation involving various inconsistencies and discrepancies. Though it considered such inconsistencies and discrepancies to be not material, the hostility of PW-5, the only independent witness examined, was also noted and the prosecution did not assign any specific reasons for PW-5 turning hostile to help the accused. The other independent witnesses cited by the prosecution were given up without assigning any reason. It is not the claim of the prosecution that there were any independent witnesses for any happenings during the marital life of PW-1 with the 1st accused, though it is true that the happenings inside the matrimonial home could not have within public knowledge. However, if there was such cruelty and harassment by the accused against PW- 1, the same could not have escaped the attention of the immediate neighbours residing in the same building or residing in the same area. The defects in the investigation noted by the trial Court in detail were ignored by it as inconsequential and the fact that PW-4, brother of PW- 1, who was consulted before Ex.P-1 was given, was an advocate, was not given any importance because of relationship. The relationship may probablise the naturality in the conduct of PW-1 consulting PW-4 before giving a report to the police, but it also should have led to a close scrutiny by the Court before accepting the contents of Ex.P-1 at face value when admittedly, the same was drafted under expert advice. While the delay in sending the First Information Report to the Magistrate stood unexplained, the alleged incidents of cruelty involving PW-1 and the accused were not acted upon by the trial Court itself, insofar as the 2nd and 3rd accused are concerned. While the prosecution was certain about the involvement of all the three accused in the cruelty consistently meted out to PW-1 by the family of the husband, the allegations against the 2nd and 3rd accused were positively disbelieved by the trial Court, which conclusion had become final. 12. The case against the 1st accused also could not have been considered to be fool proof. It is not the observation of the trial Court that the allegations about the various incidents were distinct and separate in respect of the 1st accused, while discrediting the same in respect of the 2nd and 3rd accused. Though the trial Court had the benefit of observing the demeanour of the witnesses and accepted the prosecution story in respect of the 1st accused, in view of the various circumstances referred to by the trial Court itself, discrediting the prosecution story against the 2nd and 3rd accused, proof beyond reasonable doubt against the 1st accused also becomes doubtful. The conduct of the 2nd and 3rd accused in attending the cradle ceremony and presenting a gold chain to the grand-daughter at the time of cradle ceremony were rightly considered by the trial Court to be not indicating any culpable behaviour on the part of the 2nd and 3rd accused intending to harass the daughter–in–law and if it was so, the parents could have not acted independent of the wishes of their son in their relations with their daughter-in-law. If the parents-in-law are not indicating by their conduct at any time the intention to treat PW-1 cruelly, the alleged acts of the 1st accused alone towards PW-1 do not sound convincing. 13. The appellate Court discussed in depth the evidence all over again and without replicating again the various reasons given by it in the impugned judgment, it is suffice to note that there were no circumstances on record to prove any physical violence on the person of PW-1 at any time after marriage by the 1st accused. The alleged knife which was used in attempting to stab PW-1 was not attempted to be recovered during the investigation and the story about compelling PW-1 to have plant sap in nostrils and ears could not have been sustained when it was claimed to be a joint effort of the accused 1 to 3 and the case against the 2nd and 3rd accused was disbelieved. Asking the lady to have Sreemantham performed for her at an advanced stage of pregnancy could not have been related to any cruelty or harassment in demanding dowry and the alleged demands of the accused 1 to 3 or by the 1st accused alone for any additional dowry or additional money, admittedly were not evidenced by any evidence and they are not corroborated by any independent witness and such demands were not stated to have been subjected to any panchayat before any friends or elders or any caste panchayat or the like. Allegations of this nature are easy to make but, difficult to refute and if the appellate Court on an analysis of the evidence on record had decided to extend the benefit of reasonable doubt, it requires very strong circumstances for this Court to interfere in revision, which do not appear to be present. 14. Therefore, the Criminal Revision fails, and is accordingly dismissed. __________________ G. BHAVANI PRASAD, J December 19, 2011. KTL