IN THE HIGH COURT OF HIMACHAL PRADESH, SHIMLA Cr. Appeal No: 161 of 1999 Reserved on: 25.5.2010 Date of decision: 18.6.2010 State of H.P. Appellant Versus Madan Lal Respondent Coram: The Hon’ble Mr. Justice Deepak Gupta, J. The Hon’ble Mr. Justice Rajiv Sharma, J. Whether approved for reporting? No. For the Appellant: Mr. Rajesh Mandhotra, Deputy A.G. For the Respondent: Mr. V.S. Rathore, Advocate. _____________________________________________________ Deepak Gupta, J 1. This appeal by the State is directed against the judgment dated 11.9.1998, delivered by learned Additional Sessions Judge, Shimla in Sessions Trial No. 50-S/7 of 1995, whereby he acquitted the accused of having committed an offence punishable under Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code. 2. The admitted facts of the case are that Smt. Jasmati, wife of the accused Madan Lal, committed suicide by setting herself on fire on 2.7.1994 at about 9.00 a.m. According to the 2 prosecution, the deceased was forced to commit suicide because of the ill-treatment meted out to her by the accused. The case was registered on the statement Ext.PW-4/A of PW-4 under Section 154 Cr.P.C., who is the mother of deceased Jasmati. According to her the deceased was married to the accused 10 years back. After about 5 years, the deceased started complaining to her mother PW-4 that the accused was maltreating her and also used to beat her. In fact her version was that the accused had set the deceased on fire, but the police did not find truth in this version and only filed a case under Section 306 IPC. 3. The fact that the deceased died due to burning and had committed suicide is not denied by the accused himself. However, according to the accused, the deceased was depressed since she was unwell and, therefore, committed suicide. 4. The learned trial court came to the conclusion that the prosecution has miserably failed to prove its case and hence acquitted the accused. Therefore, this appeal by the State. 5. PW-4, Ganga Devi, is the star witness of the prosecution. According to her, on 1.7.1994 she came 3 to know from someone that her daughter Jasmati had received burn injuries. She thereafter rushed to Shimla. She went to the hospital and was informed that her daughter had died. She then went back to Sanjauli to the house of the deceased and the accused. According to her, her daughter had been informing her that she was being beaten up by the accused who was demanding that she (Ganga Devi) should transfer the land in his favour. She also mentioned that similar facts were stated in the letters Ext.PW-4/B to Ext.PW-4/G. She denied that her daughter was unwell and used to have excessive bleedings during periods. 6. PW-7 Ayodhya Devi was the grant mother of the deceased. According to her, the deceased had been complaining to her also about the ill-treatment meted out to her by the accused and on one occasion the accused had beaten the deceased in her presence. However, her version is totally different to that of PW-4 who had stated that the accused had been asking PW-4 Ganga Devi to transfer her land in the name of his father and brother. According to PW-7 it was the family of the accused who had been demanding that Ganga Devi, mother of the deceased, 4 should transfer the land in their names. She clearly stated that the accused had never made such a demand that Ganga Devi PW-4 should either transfer the land in his name or in the name of his family. This witness admitted that her grand daughter deceased Jasmati used to remain ill and had excessive bleeding during periods which would last for 15-20 days. She also admitted that the mother of the accused used to look after the deceased at Shimla. She also stated that her grand daughter was very weak on account of this ailment. 7. PW-9 Baldev Raj, gives a totally different version about the harassment. According to him the deceased had complained to him that her husband the accused was not giving her sufficient money to meet her expenses. In cross-examination, he admitted that the deceased was his niece. 8. PW-10, Sohan Lal is a neighbour of the deceased. According to him on 2.7.1994 he heard some hue and cry from the residence of the accused and noticed that the deceased Jasmati was on fire. He put a blanket on her to douse the fire. When he entered the house he noticed that the accused had also caught fire while saving the deceased. In cross- 5 examination, he admitted that the deceased was a very weak lady and had doubted the character of the accused. 9. PW-12, Deepak Kumar is the child of the accused and the deceased. According to him the relations between his parents were normal. 10. The allegations made against the accused regarding ill-treatment are very vague. Whereas according to the mother Ganga Devi PW-4, the accused was demanding that she (the mother) should transfer her land in his name, according to the grandmother PW-7 Ayodhya Devi the accused never made such a demand. Even if such demand had been made, it was not a ground to commit suicide and it would not even amount to cruelty against the deceased. It has come on record that the deceased was an ailing woman. She was very weak and her menstrual periods used to last for more than 15 days in a month. Therefore, the chances of her having committed suicide in a fit of depression cannot be ruled out. In any event there is nothing to show that the deceased in any manner abetted her to commit suicide. 6 11. Therefore, the learned trial court was fully justified in acquitting the accused. We find no error in the judgment of the learned trial court. The appeal is accordingly dismissed. The bail bonds furnished by the accused are discharged. (Deepak Gupta), J (Rajiv Sharma), J June 18, 2010 (VT)