IN THE HIGH COURT OF HIMACHAL PRADESH, SHIMLA Cr. Appeal No. 300 of 1998 Decided on : May 7, 2010 State of H.P. …Appellant Versus Smt. Sagri Devi and another ...Respondents Coram The Hon’ble Mr. Justice Surjit Singh, Judge The Hon’ble Mr. Justice V.K. Sharma, Judge Whether approved for reporting?1 For the Appellant: Mr. Rajender Dogra, Additional Advocate General. For the Respondents: Pt. Om Parkash, Advocate. Surjit Singh, Judge (oral) State has appealed against the judgment, dated 21.4.1998, of learned Additional Sessions Court, whereby respondents Sagri Devi and Sanjay Sharma, who were tried for offence, under Section 306 read with Section 34 IPC, have been acquitted. 2. Case of the prosecution is that deceased Ranjit Singh was married to respondent Sagri Devi. Initially the couple resided in joint family, but after separation from the family they shifted to Hamirpur, where the deceased started working at a Public Call Office (PCO), owned by one Chander Shekher, a Press Reporter. While at Hamirpur, respondent Sagri Devi allegedly developed illicit relations Whether reporters of the local papers may be allowed to see the judgment? …2… with respondent Sanjay Sharma and several other persons, including Chander Shekher, the owner of PCO. On coming to know about the infidelity of respondent Sagri Devi, deceased returned to his native place in Dehra Sub Division of Kangra District. Respondent Sagri Devi, however, did not accompany him and stayed back at Hamirpur, alongwith 1½ year old child of the couple. Deceased then filed a petition before SDM, Dehra, to seek production of respondent Sagri Devi alongwith the child. SDM ordered her production before him. She appeared alongwith the child and went with the deceased. 3. Three-four days, after respondent Sagri Devi went with the deceased, respondent Sanjay Sharma accompanied by said Chander Shekher and two other persons, namely Janak Raj and Ramesh Chand, went to the house of deceased and threatened him that he would be killed. Thereafter they left. Three-four days thereafter, respondent Sagri Devi deserted the deceased and went to Hamirpur. She started living with respondent Sanjay Sharma. Deceased again filed some petition before SDM, Dehra. Respondent Sagri Devi after deserting the deceased filed a petition for divorce and also a case for grant of maintenance. 4. Upset by the illicit relations of respondent with respondent No.2 as also the desertion by his wife respondent No.1 Sagri Devi and the institution of cases of maintenance and divorce by her, deceased hanged himself …3… to death on the night intervening 26th and 27th October, 1995. His dead body was spotted hanging from a tree. Police was informed. PW-3 Inspector Suresh Chand went to the spot. He arranged to lower the dead body from the tree and loosened the nook of the rope. Inquest was conducted. Dead body was sent to hospital for postmortem, which was conducted by PW-10 Dr. D.P. Swami, who gave the opinion that cause of death was hanging by the neck. 5. Two letters Exts. P-6 and P-7 were recovered from the shirt worn by the deceased at the time of his death. These letters alongwith admitted writings of the deceased were sent to Hand Writing Expert, who gave opinion Ext. PW11/B, that letters Exts. P6 and P7 were written in the hand of the deceased. As per these letters, deceased held the present respondents as also Chander Shekher, Janak Raj and Ramesh Chand, responsible for taking the extreme step, because they had developed illicit relations with respondent Sagri Devi and were instrumental in her going stray and deserting him alongwith the child. Deceased also wrote in one of those two letters that he was unable to bear pangs of separation of his 1½ year child. 6. Trial Court held that the prosecution had failed to prove the charge and acquitted the respondents. 7. We have heard the learned Additional Advocate General as also the learned counsel for the respondent and gone through the record. …4… 8. It is recorded in FIR Ext. PW7/A, which was lodged by PW-1 Vikramjit Singh, a brother of the deceased, that three-four days before respondent Sagri Devi deserted the deceased, respondent Sanjay Sharma alongwith three other persons, namely Chander Shekher, Janak Raj and Ramesh Chand, had visited deceased’s house and threatened to kill him. We do not find anything like that, written in the two letters Exts. P5 and P6, recovered from the pocket of shirt, worn by the deceased at the time of his death. 9. Also, PW-1 Vikrimjit Singh admitted, in the cross-examination, that respondent Sanjay Sharma and above named three persons did not visit deceased’s house in his presence. 10. Allegation in FIR PW7/A, that deceased returned to his native place from Hamirpur, after coming to know about the alleged illicit relations between respondents Sagri Devi and Sanjay Sharma and two-three other persons, and Sagri Devi stayed back at Hamirpur at the place of Sanjay Sharma, is also belied by the testimony of PW-1 Vikrimjit Singh, who, in cross-examination, stated that when warrant of production was issued, respondent Sagri Devi was found not at the place of Sanjay Sharma, but at the place of her sister Raj Kumari at Amb. It has also been stated by PW-1 Vikrimjit Singh that when respondent Sagri Devi left the house of deceased, she had been beaten up by him and …5… after leaving the house, she went not to Sanjay Sharma or anybody else, but to her sister Prem Kumari at Sujanpur. 11. In view of the above discussed evidence, we are of the view that the appeal is without merit. Hence, it is dismissed. (Surjit Singh), J May 7, 2010 (ss) (V.K. Sharma), J.