Criminal Appeal No. 645-DBA of 1997 -1- *** IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH 1. Criminal Appeal No. 645-DBA of 1997 Date of decision : 16.5.2008 State of Haryana ...Appellant Versus Amrik Singh and another ...Respondent 2. Criminal Appeal No. 273-SB of 1997 Amrik Singh and another .....Appellants Versus State of Punjab ...Respondent **** CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE ADARSH KUMAR GOEL HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE S. D. ANAND **** Present: Mr. Pradumn Yadav, Deputy Advocate General, Haryana Ms. Monika Jalota, Advocate as Amicus Curiae S. D. ANAND, J. This order shall dispose of Criminal Appeal No. 645-DBA of 1997 filed by the State of Haryana against the judgment dated 26.3.1997 vide which the learned Trial Court, while acquitting the respondents-accused of a charge under Section 304-B IPC, held them guilty only for an offence under Section 498-A IPC and the Criminal Appeal No. 645-DBA of 1997 -2- *** Criminal Appeal No. 273-SB of 1997 has been filed by the convicted accused to obtain invalidation of the finding of conviction for an offence under Section 498-A IPC. The prosecution allegations were that Dharamwati daughter of Jag Pal was married to respondent-accused Amrik Singh on 24.1.1995. Although adequate amount of dowry was provided at the time of marriage, respondents/accused were not satisfied with the adequacy thereof. They required Dharamwati to bring refrigerator and a cooler from her natal house. On 27.3.1997, Amrik Singh accused came over to the natal house of his wife Dharamwati (where she had been residing for the preceding 15-20 days). He took her along to the matrimonial house. The very following day, Jag Pal was informed by Man singh, younger brother of respondent- accused Amrik Singh, that Dharamwati had committed suicide by hanging. He reached the matrimonial house of Dharamwati and found her lying dead. Prior thereto Dharamwati had been informing her parents on every visit (to the natal house) about the dowry demand raised by the respondents-accused. Her parents visited matrimonial house of the deceased and advised the accused to refrain from raising a dowry demand but the advice tendered by them did not have the desired effect. PW-1 Constable Sarwan Kumar, posted in the office of S.P., Gurgaon had prepared scaled site plan Ex. PA of the spot on 2.5.1996 on the demarcation of Jag Pal PW-5. PW-2 Sub Inspector Lahori Lal had recorded formal FIR Criminal Appeal No. 645-DBA of 1997 -3- *** Ex. PC on receipt of statement Ex. PB which also bore endorsement Ex. PB/1 of ASI Dhani Ram. PW-3 Dr. K.D. Vashishtha had conducted the post- mortem examination on the dead body of the deceased. However, he was not in a position to read the PMR as he had lost the eye sight by the time he was put into the witness box at the trial (who was examined by the prosecution with the permission of the Court.) PW-4 Dr. Subhash Bhardwaj on the basis of post- mortem report stated that “the deceased bore ligature mark of size 2 cms in breadth extending from the middle of nape 6 cms below the right ear lobule forward and downward medially above the adam's apple and then extending to left upward and laterally upto the nape. It was more prominent on right side and indistinct on left side. Skin below the ligature mark was congested. Post mortem staining and rigor mortis was present. There was no external mark of injury.”He further testified that as recorded in the FIR, the Medical Officer conducting the post-mortem examination had opined that death had occurred due to hanging. PW-5 Jag Pal and PW-6 Mst. Ram Ratti are parents of the deceased lady. PW-7 ASI Dhani Ram had investigated this case. Respondents/accused pleaded innocence with the following common averments:- Amrik Singh and Phoolwati:- “There used to be bickerings in the house of Jagpal father Criminal Appeal No. 645-DBA of 1997 -4- *** of Dharamwati deceased. Her marriage was performed against her wishes and on this account she committed suicide leaving a suicide note Mark Y to this effect that she had voluntarily brought her life to an end without blaming us. This case was brought against us for blackmailing us.” Learned Trial Judge noticed that the parameters for a conviction under Section 304-B IPC were not made out as: for the following reasoning :- “Both Jag Pal PW5 and his wife Smt. Ram Ratti, PW6, parents of Dharamwati, are unanimous in their statements made in the court that Dharamwati during her last visit, a week prior to her death to their place, had told that their in-laws were demanding a cooler and fridge but there is no mention in the FIR, copy Ex.PC of any such complaint to have been made by Dharamwati during her last visit. The very fact that Dharamwati committed suicide within a day of joining the matrimonial house, is in itself suggestive of the fact that treatment meted out to her was of such a nature as was likely to drive her to commit suicide which she did. However, there is no convincing evidence if the requisite harassment was caused soon before the death and as such presumption under Section 113-B of the Indian Evidence Act is not attracted and commission of offence under Section 304-B of the Indian Criminal Appeal No. 645-DBA of 1997 -5- *** Penal Code is not proved. The accused are given benefit of doubt and are acquitted of the charge under section 304-B of the Indian Penal Code”. We have perused the record and find that the above quoted observations made by the learned Trial Judge are born out by the evidence available on the file. In the light thereof, we do not find any perversity in the appreciation of evidence by the learned Trial Judge. The appeal filed by the State of Haryana shall stand dismissed. Insofar as the conviction of appellants ( in Criminal Appeal No. 273 of 1997 and respondents in Criminal Appeal No. 645-DBA of 1997) is concerned, it requires to be noticed that prosecution presentation in the relevant behalf was supported by clear unambiguous and clinching testimony of PW-5 Jag Pal and PW-6 Mst. Ram Ratti who are parents of the deceased lady, both of whom testified that Dharamwati had informed them on her last visit ( about a week before her death) that she was being treated with cruelty by the respondents-accused (son and mother inter-se) on account of her inability to meet their dowry demand. Reliance, placed by the accused upon the suicide note Ex. DA to obtain a verdict of exoneration, was appropriately declined by the learned Trial Judge with the following observations:- “The bearing of the suicide note Ex.DA can only be appreciated if it is found to be a genuine document. The Criminal Appeal No. 645-DBA of 1997 -6- *** only evidence led about the suicide note Ex.DA to be in the hand writing of Dharamwati is the statement of accused in his own favour as DW2. Admittedly Dharamwati was studying in 9th class at the time of his marriage. Her handwriting has not been got compared with any standard hand writing. The alleged suicide note neither bears any date nor signatures of Dharamwati. AT the same time there is no allegation if at the time of scribing the said suicide note, the scribe had embarked upon to bring an end to her life. It only contains that prior to marriage she had developed desire to commit suicide as there had been quarrel at her parents house. Once she had got married and was transplanted from parents house to the house of her in-laws, there was hardly any reason to scribe such a note wherein she has spoken laurels in favour of her husband and his parents. For arguments sake had she been leading a comfortable life there was no need to pen-down a glooming note about her state of things prior to her marriage. The professional language used in the concluding part of the alleged suicide note absolving the accused of their criminality creates doubts about its genuineness. In view of the reckoning set out above, the document Ex.DA is not accepted as a genuine document and as such it has no bearing on the merits of the case”. Criminal Appeal No. 645-DBA of 1997 -7- *** For the very reasons noticed by the learned Trial Judge, we hold that Ex. DA is neither genuine nor a reliable piece of evidence and accused cannot be held entitled for exoneration on the basis thereof. In continuation of the above adjudicatory exercise, we must notice here that Dharamwati concededly died an unnatural death at the matrimonial house and within fourteen months of her marriage. Even though it is in evidence that no dowry was demanded at the time of marriage, yet there is adequate evidence in the statement of parents of the deceased lady that accused had treated her with cruelty and she committed suicide on the very morning of the following day she had joined the respondents- accused at the matrimonial house. In the light fore-going discussion, both the Criminal Appeal No. 645-DBA of 1997 filed by the State and Criminal Appeal No. 273-SB of 1997 filed by the accused shall stand dismissed. ( S. D. ANAND ) JUDGE May 16, 2008 (ADARSH KUMAR GOEL) Pka JUDGE