* 1 * Cri.Appeal-658/1992 Cri.Appeal-546/1992 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 658 OF 1992 ( BY STATE FOR ENHANCEMENT OF SENTENCE ) The State of Maharashtra ........... Appellant : V E R S U S : 1. Baban Maruti Salekar 2. Parvati Baban Salekar 3. Ramchandra Baban Salekar .......... Respondents [Orig.Accd No.1,2 & 4] W I T H CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 546 OF 1992 [BY ACCUSED AGAINST CONVICTION] 1. Baban Maruti Salekar 2. Parvati Baban Salekar 3. Rahibai Maruti Salekar 4. Ramchandra Baban Salekar .......... Appellants /Orig.Accd nos.1 to 4 : V E R S U S : The State of Maharashtra ........ Respondent /Orig.Comp * * * * Mr. N.P. Deshpande, adv.for the appellant in Appeal No.546/1992 and for respondent in Appeal No. 658 of 1992. Mr. Y.M. Nakhwa, APP for appellant in Appeal No.658 of 1992 and for respondent in Appeal No. 546 of 1992 Coram : Smt. R.P. SondurBaldota, J. Dated : 23 rd August, 2010. P.C. : 1. This is a common order on the above two appeals. The appellants in Appeal No. 546 of 1982 are original accused nos.1 to 4 who challenge their conviction for the offences punishable under Section 498-A and 306 read with Section 34 Indian Penal Code and * 2 * Cri.Appeal-658/1992 Cri.Appeal-546/1992 Appeal No. 658 of 1982 is filed by the State of Maharashtra for enhancement of the sentence. 2. Heard counsel for both sides. 3. The prosecution case stated in brief, is that, deceased Sakubai was married to accused no.4. Accused no.1 is her father-in-law, accused no.2-mother-in-law and accused no.3 her grand mother-in- law. The accused persons are alleged to have been harassing and illtreating Sakubai for the reason of her improper behaviour, as well as, on account of her not being able to bear a child. It was also alleged that about a year prior to the incident of death, accused no.4 had beaten her while in the agricultural field. In the course of the beating, the nose ring worn by Sakubai had fallen down. Accused no.3 then asked Sakubai to set the grass on fire in order to locate the nose ring. Sakubai had set the grass on fire causing losses for which the parents of Sakubai were made to compensate by paying Rs.1,000/- to the accused persons. On 2nd February, 1991 P.W. No.3- Dagdu Donde brother of Sakubai was called by the accused persons and informed that Sakubai had stolen painjan belonging to the “ ” sister of accused no.4 and was asked to compensate for the same. * 3 * Cri.Appeal-658/1992 Cri.Appeal-546/1992 P.W. No.3 then suggested that a religious ceremony be performed in his house at Chikalgaon so as to find out the thief. Accordingly, Sakubai had gone to Chikalgaon on 5th February, 1991. However, the proposed religious ceremony could not be performed since on that day, Sakubai was having her menustral periods. P.W. No.3 and P.W. no. 5-her mother-Venubai asked Sakubai to come again on next Friday for the religious ceremony. Therefore, on 5th February, 1991 Sakubai returned to the house of her in-laws at Vadtumbi. 4. On 8th February, 1991 at 2.30 p.m, the Police Patil of the village (P.W. No.1) who was attending an engagement ceremony was informed by two other invitees, women from the neighbouring village that a dead body was found in a well. Therefore, P.W. No.1 and other villagers went to the well and found that the dead body was of Sakubai. At the relevant time, accused nos.1 to 3 were also at the place of the engagement ceremony, whereas, accused no.4 was in Mumbai having gone there on the previous evening i.e. on 7th February, 1991, at about 7.30 p.m. The death of Sakubai came to be recorded as an accidental death vide A.D. No.13 of 1991. Two days thereafter, on the complaint of P.W. No.3 the police registered the * 4 * Cri.Appeal-658/1992 Cri.Appeal-546/1992 death as a suicidal death by registering an F.I.R. being C.R. No.16 of 1991 dated 10th February, 1991. An inquest panchanama and spot panchanama had been drawn on 9th February, 1991. After completing the investigation, the police filed chargesheet against all the four accused alleging that they had illtreated and harassed Sakubai thereby driving her to commit suicide. 5. The trial court accepted the evidence led by the prosecution to hold that the evidence was sufficient to bring home the guilt of the accused persons. Mr. Deshpande, the learned counsel for the appellants, in all fairness, states that an allegation of having committed theft of an ornament is a serious allegation and would be covered by the definition of cruelty under Section 498-A Indian “ ” Penal Code. He however, submits that, even if the allegation is to be accepted as having been proved in the facts and circumstances of the case, it would be difficult to state that this allegation had led Sakubai to commit suicide. He also submits that there is no material on record to show that the death of Sakubai was a suicidal death. According to him, the material on the contrary indicates an accidental death. In any case, he argues that since there is no * 5 * Cri.Appeal-658/1992 Cri.Appeal-546/1992 material to show that the death of Sakubai was a suicidal death, the benefit of doubt on that count needs to go to the accused persons and they be acquitted of the offences alleged against them. 6. Perusal of the record shows that there is no direct evidence as regards commission of the offences. The entire evidence is circumstantial evidence. Therefore, unless the prosecution is able to establish each links in the chain of circumstances that would unmistakably point out to the guilt of the accused persons, it cannot be said that the offence against the accused persons stands established. As will be seen hereinafter, there are several missing links in the chain. The evidence of P.W. no.1-the Police Patil who had been informed by the two women who were attending the engagement ceremony that on their way to the engagement ceremony they had noticed a dead body in the well, shows that they had also informed him that there was a vessel for drawing water (Kalshi) and one coil of coth (chumbal) noticed by them at the well. This according to Mr. Deshpande would indicate that the deceased had gone to the well to draw water. However, the spot panchanama does not make any reference to either the Kalshi or to “ ” * 6 * Cri.Appeal-658/1992 Cri.Appeal-546/1992 Chumbal . Unfortunately in this case the spot panchanama was “ ” not drawn immediately after noticing the body at about 2.30 p.m on 8th Februrary, 1991. The spot panchanama was drawn only at 8 a.m. in the next morning i.e. 9th February, 1991. It is not known, whether during all this period the place of the incident was guarded by anybody. The evidence shows that after receiving the news of a dead body being found in the well, a large gathering of about 1000 persons had collected near the Well. In these circumstances, the possibility of Kalshi and Chumbal being removed from near the “ ” “ ” well cannot be ruled out. The spot panchanama shows that the well in which the dead body was found had the diameter of about 23 feet with depth of about 19 feet. The level of the water was very high i.e. upto 16 feet. There had been a electric motor fixed to the well for the purpose of drawing water to supply to the villages. But as per the record the electric motor was non-functional since a few days prior to the incident and the villagers use to directly draw the water from the well with the help of buckets etc. In these circumstances, and particularly in the absence of any direct evidence, it would be difficult to hold that fall in the well of Sakubai was by * 7 * Cri.Appeal-658/1992 Cri.Appeal-546/1992 way of suicide and not by way of an accident. It is neither the case of the prosecution nor the evidence that before Sakubai left the house or sometime prior to the incident she had said to anybody that she had no desire to live or that she desired to commit suicide. In these circumstances, the trial court could not have treated the death of Sakubai as suicidal death. It ought to have been treated as an accidental death for want of sufficient evidence. 7. As has been rightly submitted by Shri. Deshpande, there is no proximate cause for suicide of Sakubai even though the allegations of theft are serious allegations. It was apparently agreeable to everybody including Sakubai that the allegation be tested in the religious ceremony which according to the belief of both sides would point out the thief. After 2nd February, 1991 she visited the house of her parents on 5th February, 1991 in order to have a chance of proving her innocence. That ceremony was required to be postponed and Sakubai returned to the house of her in-laws. Had there been extreme cruelty and harrassment subjected to Sakubai, then her parents and her brother would not have sent her away to the house of her in-laws and called her again and Sakubai also would not have * 8 * Cri.Appeal-658/1992 Cri.Appeal-546/1992 returned to the house of her in-laws. There is no evidence whatsoever of any further harrassment during the period of 5th February, 1991 to 8th February, 1991. In that circumstance, the allegation of theft though of serious nature, could not have led to Sakubai committing suicide. In these circumstances, it must be held that the prosecution has failed to bring home the offences against the appellants and hence they are required to be acquitted. Hence, Criminal Appeal No. 546 of 1992 is allowed. The impugned judgment and order dated 16th September, 1992 is set aside. The appellants are acquitted of the offences punishable under Section 498-A, 306 read with Section 34 Indian Penal Code. Their bail bonds stand cancelled. Criminal Appeal No. 658 of 1982 filed by the State for enhancement of sentence is dismissed. [Smt. R.P. SondurBaldota, J]