.(1). IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION CRIMINAL APPEAL NO.78 OF 1992 Smt.Kausalyabai Ramnath Dayama, Age : about 51 years, Occ.Household, Residing at Shirur, Dist. Pune. ..Appellant. Versus The State of Maharashtra. ..Respondent. .... Mr.A.P.Mundargi, Sr.Advocate a/w. Mr.Amol Patankar, Adv. & Mr.Preetam Runawal, Adv. for the appellant. Mr.V.B.Konde-Deshmukh, APP, for the State. .... CORAM : SMT.V.K.TAHILRAMANI,J. CORAM : SMT.V.K.TAHILRAMANI,J. CORAM : SMT.V.K.TAHILRAMANI,J. DATED : 7TH JANUARY, 2009. DATED : 7TH JANUARY, 2009. DATED : 7TH JANUARY, 2009. ORAL JUDGMENT : ORAL JUDGMENT : ORAL JUDGMENT : 1. Through this appeal, the appellant-orig.accused has challenged the judgment and order dated 19.11.1991 passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Pune in Sessions Case No.290 of 1991. By the said judgment and order, the learned Sessions Judge convicted the appellant-orig.accused for the offence punishable under Section 498-A of IPC and sentenced her to SI for six months and to pay fine of Rs.1000/-, in default SI for two months. 2. The prosecution case, briefly stated, is as under :- .(2). . On 18.11.1986 the marriage of Kalpana (deceased) took place with Umakant who is the son of the appellant. After the marriage, Umakant took his wife Kalpana to Kolhapur where he was working. They resided at Kolhapur for about one and half year then Umakant left his job at Kolhapur and came to Shirur along with Kalpana and started residing jointly with his parents and brothers. It is the prosecution case that after Umakant and his wife Kalpana came to reside at Shirur the accused started ill-treating Kalpana. According to the prosecution, the appellant used to pick up quarrel with Kalpana and due to these frequent quarrels Kalpana was fed up and she decided to end her life. On 21.1.1991 at about 9:30 a.m. Kalpana poured kerosene on her person and set herself on fire. Kalpana was taken to the hospital. Kalpana has found to have sustained 99% burn injuries. Thereafter her dying declarations i.e. Exh.14 & Exh.37 came to be recorded. In both the dying declarations, Kalpana stated that on account of frequent quarrels with her mother-in-law, she was fed up and, therefore, she set herself on fire. .(3). 3. On the basis of the dying declarations of Kalpana, offence came to be registered under Section 498-A & 306 of IPC against the appellant. After completion of investigation, the case was committed to the Court of Sessions. 4. Charge came to be framed against the appellant under Section 306 & 498-A of IPC. The accused pleaded not guilty to the said charge and claimed to be tried. The defence of the appellant is that of total denial. After going through the evidence adduced by the prosecution, the learned Sessions Judge acquitted the appellant under Section 306 IPC, however, the learned Sessions Judge convicted the appellant under Section 498-A IPC. Hence, this Appeal is filed. 5. I have heard Mr.Mundargi, the learned Counsel for the appellant-orig.accused and the learned APP for the State. I have perused the judgment and order passed by the learned Sessions Judge as well as the record pertaining to the present case. 6. The prosecution case is mainly founded on the evidence of PW-5 Pramod who is the brother of .(4). Kalpana, dying declarations Exhs.14 & 37 given by Kalpana and letters Exhs.30 & 31 written by Kalpana to her relatives. 7. PW-5 Pramod has stated that his sister Kalpana was married to Umakant who is the son of the appellant-accused. The said marriage took place on 18.11.1986. In the month of March-April, 1988 Kalpana came to their house for delivery. During that period Kalpana used to tell that frequent quarrels took place in her matrimonial house and due to this she was fed-up. Thereafter Kalpana wrote a letter to her brother stating that she is unwell and hence she should be called to stay at the house of her brother at Aurangabad. Accordingly Kalpana was called to the house of her brother. Kalpana stayed there for some time. During that period, she informed her brother and others that her mother-in-law used to pick-up quarrels with Kalpana and she was harassing Kalpana. On 21.1.1991 PW-5 Pramod received a message that his sister Kalpana was admitted in hospital. He met Kalpana in the hospital. At that time Kalpana informed him that due to harassment caused by her mother-in-law, she was fed-up and therefore she committed suicide. On .(5). 25.1.1991 he returned back to Aurangabad, on the same day at Aurangabad he received one inland letter Exh.31 written by his sister Kalpana. In the said letter, Kalpana had made complaint against the appellant stating that her mother-in-law was always speaking to her in a taunting manner. In the said letter, Kalpana further stated that she is really fed up with the quarrels with her mother-in-law and the bitter words uttered by her mother-in-law hence she is committing suicide. Apparently this letter was written by Kalpana shortly before she committed suicide and after she posted the letter she committed suicide. PW-5 Pramod has not been shaken in the cross-examination. Moreover, it is seen that the defence has not challenged the letter Exh.31. Thus, it is seen that these letters especially Exh.31 bear out the fact that Kalpana was infact always spoken to in a taunting manner by the appellant and she was thus harassed by the appellant. 8. Besides the evidence of PW-5 Pramod and the letters written by Kalpana especially Exh.31 which was written just prior to her death, there is another material piece of evidence on record i.e. .(6). two dying declarations given by Kalpana (Exhs.14 & 37). Exh.37 has been recorded by PW-7 Taluka Executive Magistrate Ms.Naina Phansali and Exh.14 has been recorded by PW-1 Special Judicial Magistrate Mr.Khomane. Both the said dying declarations have been recorded after following necessary procedure. Nothing has been elicited in the cross-examination of both these witnesses so as to shake their testimony regarding recording of dying declarations. There are no allegations that the dying declarations are product of tutoring. Dying declaration Exh.37 was recorded immediately after the incident. In both the dying declarations, the deceased has given consistent statements. Considering the evidence on record both the dying declarations appear to be a totally truthful version of the deceased. 9. In both the dying declarations, Kalpana has stated that quarrels always used to take place with her mother-in-law and on account of the quarrels she was fed up hence she set herself on fire. Both these dying declarations also corroborate the fact that the appellant treated Kalpana with cruelty and on account of this constant cruelty meted out by the appellant to .(7). Kalpana, Kalpana committed suicide. 10. No doubt in the present case, there is no allegation of physical violence nor is there any allegation regarding demand for dowry or ill-treatment or harassment in relation to dowry. However, the Explanation to section 498-A of the Indian Penal Code is wide enough to include any wilful conduct on the part of the husband or husband’s relative, which is of such a nature as is likely to drive the woman to commit suicide. Where the scolding, which the victim received at the hands of her mother-in-law, made her commit suicide it will have to be construed as a wilful conduct of such a nature as had driven the woman, to commit suicide. The first part of the Explanation to Section 498-A Penal Code is very clear and under it what is made punishable is wilful conduct of such a nature as is likely to drive the woman to commit suicide. The other ingredients to be proved is that the marriage should have been performed within 7 years of the date of the incident to allow the presumption being raised under Sec.113-A of the Evidence Act. Reading the Explanation, it is clear that the meaning of ‘cruelty’ as defined in Section 498A of .(8). the Indian Penal Code has to be imported in Section 113 A of the Evidence Act while deciding whether the victim had been subjected to any cruelty or not. Where the act of the accused was a wilful act of such a nature as had driven the deceased to commit suicide, it has to be held that the offence had been brought home by the prosecution to the accused. 11. In the present case admittedly Kalpana ended her life by setting herself on fire. Her dying declarations Exhs.37 & 14 are on record. These dying declarations as well as letters Exh.31 written by Kalpana and the evidence of PW-5 show that there was continuous ill-treatment at the hands of the appellant to Kalpana which left her with no alternative but to end her own life. 12. Looking to the evidence on record, I am of the opinion that the learned Sessions Judge has rightly convicted the appellant under Section 498-A of IPC. 13. As far as the sentence of imprisonment is concerned, it is seen that the appellant is a lady. As of today, the age of the appellant is 70 .(9). years, Looking to the fact that the incident had taken place in the year, 1991 and the age of the appellant, I am inclined to reduce the sentence of imprisonment imposed on the appellant. 14. In the result, the conviction of the appellant under Section 498-A IPC is confirmed. However, the sentence of imprisonment imposed on the appellant is reduced to the period undergone by the appellant. The appellant is on bail. Her bail bond shall stand cancelled. Criminal Appeal is partly allowed. (SMT.V.K.TAHILRAMANI,J.) (SMT.V.K.TAHILRAMANI,J.) (SMT.V.K.TAHILRAMANI,J.)