1 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION CRIMINAL APPLICATION NO.1192 OF 2008 IN CRIMINAL APPLICATION NO.490 OF 2008 IN CRIMINAL APPEAL NO.324 OF 2008 Suresh Daji Sawant ..... Applicant. V/s State of Maharashtra ...... Respondent. Mr. Noville D. Deboo i/b Mr. Divakar D. Rai for the applicant. Mr. Rajesh More, APP for the State. CORAM: V.M. KANADE, J. DATE : 20th November, 2008 P.C.: 1. Heard the learned Counsel appearing on behalf of the applicant and the learned APP appearing on behalf of the State. 2. Applicant is convicted for the offence punishable under section 304B and 498-A of the Indian Penal Code and is sentenced to suffer rigorous imprisonment for seven years. 3. It is the case of the prosecution that the wife of the applicant committed suicide on account of demand of Rs 60,000/- made by the applicant toward dowry and on failure to pay the said amount, applicant harassed the deceased and, as a result, she committed suicide on 26/09/1997. 2 4. The learned Counsel appearing on behalf of the applicant submits that the prosecution witnesses have given three different dates for demand of dowry. He further submitted that even, according to the prosecution witnesses, dowry was demanded in 1996 and the deceased committed suicide in September, 1997. Taking into consideration the said statement of the prosecution witnesses that the demand of dowry was made in 1996 and the deceased committed suicide in September, 1997, there appears to be no nexus between the demand of dowry and the suicide committed by the deceased. The demand was made almost more than one year prior to her death. One another circumstance is that there is a child born out of the marriage and the said child is with the mother of the applicant and if the applicant is released on bail he will be able to support the child. In this view of the matter, applicant has made out a case for bail. 5. Applicant be released on bail in the sum of Rs 5000/- with one or two sureties in the like amount. 6. Application is disposed of. (V.M. KANADE, J.) 3