1 CRI.APPEAL NO.574/2001 580/2001
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE OF BOMBAY
BENCH AT AURANGABAD
CRIMINAL APPEAL NO.574 OF 2001
Parasaram s/o Vithal Harde,
Age 54 years, Occupation:
Service, working as a Primary
Teacher, in Zilla Parishad,
Aurangabad, resident of
Galleborgaon, Taluka Khultabad,
District: Aurangabad.
(at present in jail) …APPELLANT
(Orig.Appellant No.5)
VERSUS
1. The State of Maharashtra.
2. Rangnath Hari Jadhav,
Age 50 years, Occupation:
Service, Primary Teacher,
at post Shiur, Taluka Vaijapur,
District Aurangabad.
…RESPONDENTS
…
Mr.N.K.Kakade, Advocate for the appellant.
Mr. S.P.Tiwari, APP for respondent no.1.
Mr. M.P.Kale, Advocate, for respondent no.2.
…
WITH
CRIMINAL APPEAL NO.580 OF 2001
1. Karbhari s/o Asaram Bhadait,
Age 31 years, Occ. Service,
R/o. Jalgaon, Tq. Vaijapur,
District : Aurangabad.
((2. Asaram s/o Rambhau Bhadait,
Age 65 years, Occ: Agriculture,
R/o as above.
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2 CRI.APPEAL NO.574/2001 580/2001
3. Sow. Sumanbai w/o Asaram Bhadait,
Age 59 years, Occ: Household,
R/o as above. ))
(APPEAL ABATED AS AGAINST APPELLANT NOS. 2
AND 3 AS PER COURT ORDER DATED 23.2.2016.)
4. Miss Anita D/o Asaram Bhadait,
Age 20 years, Occ: Household,
R/o. as above.
…APPELLANTS
VERSUS
1. The State of Maharashtra.
2. Rangnath s/o Hari Jadhav,
Age major, Occ: Service,
R/o Shivoor, Tq. Vaijapur,
District: Aurangabad.
(Ori.complainant).
…RESPONDENTS
…
Mr. R.N.Dhorde, Senior Advocate, i/b Mr. V.R.Dhorde,
Advocate, for appellants.
Mr. S.P.Tiwari, APP for respondent no.1.
Mr. M.P.Kale, Advocate, for respondent no.2.
…
CORAM: P.R. BORA, J.
***
Date of reserving the judgment: 4/9/2017
Date of pronouncing the judgment: 22/12/2017
***
JUDGMENT:
1. Both these appeals arise out of the judgment
and order passed by the second Additional Ad hoc
Sessions Judge, Aurangabad, in Sessions Case No.15/2000
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3 CRI.APPEAL NO.574/2001 580/2001
decided on 24th of December, 2001.
2. Appellants in both these appeals were
prosecuted in the aforesaid Sessions Case for the offenses
punishable under Sections 498-A, 306, 323, 504, 506 read
with Section 34 of IPC. Appellant nos. 2 and 3 in Criminal
Appeal No.580/2001 died during pendency of the present
appeal and the appeal, therefore, stood abated against the
said appellants. Appellant nos. 1 and 4 in Criminal Appeal
No.580/2001 were accused nos. 1 and 4 in the aforesaid
Sessions case whereas appellant in Criminal Appeal
No.574/2001 was accused no.5 in the aforesaid Sessions
case. Appellant nos. 1 and 4 in Criminal Appeal
No.580/2001 are hereinafter referred to as accused no.1
and accused no.4 whereas the appellant in Criminal Appeal
No.574/2001 is referred to as accused no.5.
3. Learned Sessions Judge has held the appellants
guilty for the offenses punishable under Sections 498-A,
306, 504 and 506 read with Section 34 of IPC. Accused
no.1 has been sentenced to suffer rigorous imprisonment
for ten years and fine of Rs.5,000/-; in default, to suffer
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4 CRI.APPEAL NO.574/2001 580/2001
rigorous imprisonment for six months for the offense
punishable under Section 306 read with Section 34 of IPC
whereas for the offense punishable under Section 498-A
read with Section 34 of IPC he has been sentenced to
suffer rigorous imprisonment for one year and fine of
Rs.1,000/-; in default, rigorous imprisonment for one
month. Accused no.1 has also been convicted to pay fine
of Rs.500/-; in default to suffer rigorous imprisonment for
fifteen days, for each of the offenses punishable under
Section 504 and 506 of IPC. The accused no.4 has been
given the benefit of the Probation of Offenders Act. The
accused no.5 has been imposed with the similar
punishment as has been imposed on accused no.1.
4. Accused no.1 had married with deceased
Sangita on 9th of May, 1995. Accused no.4 is the real
sister of accused no.1 whereas accused no.5 is the
maternal uncle of accused no.1. Deceased Sangita
suffered an unnatural death on 15.11.1999. As per the
prosecution, deceased Sangita committed suicide by
consuming poisonous substance at her matrimonial house
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at village Jalgaon, taluka Vaijapur, district Aurangabad. It
was alleged that the accused persons with common
intention subjected deceased Sangita to physical and
mental cruelty on account of non fulfillment of their
unlawful monetary demands which ultimately drove
deceased Sangita to commit suicide by taking poisonous
substance. According to the prosecution, the accused in
furtherance of their common intention abated the
commission of suicide by deceased Sangita by subjecting
her to physical and mental harassment.
5. The father of deceased Sangita lodged report of
the alleged incident at Police Station, Vaijapur, on 16th of
November, 1999. In the report so alleged, it was alleged
that there were persistent monetary demands from the
accused persons and deceased Sangita was physically and
mentally harassed for fulfillment of the said unlawful
demands. It was alleged that the accused persons were
asking deceased Sangita to bring from her parents a sum
of Rs.50,000/- for purchase of a house. Accused no.1
also had demanded an amount of Rs.10,000/- for purchase
of motor cycle. Thereafter, one more demand was raised
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of Rs.20,000/- for purchase of colour T.V.set, etc. Lastly,
the accused had demanded Rs.5,000/- from the father of
deceased Sangita. Sangita had communicated the said
facts by writing an inland letter to her father prior to six
months of the alleged incident. Prior to that also, deceased
Sangita had sent one chit informing her father that her
husband i.e. accused no.1 was not happy with the clothes
presented to him and was expecting a gold ring.
Whenever deceased Sangita used to come to her parental
house, she used to disclose to her parents about her
harassment and tortures by the accused persons. In the
circumstances, it was alleged that deceased Sangita
committed suicide being fed up with the physical and
mental cruelty to which she was subjected by the accused
persons.
6. On the report lodged by Shri Rangnath Jadhav,
father of deceased Sangita, investigation was set in
motion. The Police persons carried out the usual
formalities of preparing spot panchnama, inquest
panchnama, etc. The post mortem examination of the
dead body of Sangita was also got conducted. The
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statements of all necessary witnesses were examined by
the investigating officers. The articles seized during the
course of investigation were sent for their chemical
analysis and the report received from the Chemical
Analyzer was made part of the chargesheet. After filing
of the chargesheet, the case was committed to the Court
of Sessions.
7. The learned Sessions Judge framed charge
against the accused persons on 26th June 2001. The
accused persons denied the charges raised against them
and claimed to be tried. In order to prove the guilt of the
accused, the prosecution examined as many as eight
witnesses. The defense of the accused was of total
denial and false implication. Accused no.1 also examined
one Dnyaneshwar Sahebrao Jadhav in his defense.
Learned Additional Sessions Judge after having assessed
the documentary and oral evidence convicted the accused
for the offenses charged against them and sentenced them
to suffer the punishment as noted hereinabove.
8. Learned Counsel appearing for the accused
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assailed the impugned judgment on various grounds. Shri
R.N.Dhorde, learned Senior Counsel, criticized the
judgment on several grounds. Learned Senior Counsel
submitted that the trial Court has failed in appreciating
that in the report initially lodged by PW 1 Rangnath, father
of the prosecutrix, no allegation was made by him against
any of the accused. Learned Senior Counsel submitted
that the prosecution has failed in bringing on record the
cogent and sufficient evidence to prove the accusations
against the accused persons.
9. Learned Senior Counsel further submitted that
accused no.1 himself is a teacher and was earning a good
salary. As such, according to him, there was no reason
for accused no.1 or his parents to make any demand from
deceased Sangita or her parents. Learned Senior Counsel
further submitted that in so far as the monetary demands
allegedly made by the accused persons and their
fulfillment by the parents of deceased Sangita is
concerned, the evidence on record is inconsistent and
unbelievable. Learned Senior Counsel further submitted
that accused no.1 was already possessing Hero Honda
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9 CRI.APPEAL NO.574/2001 580/2001
Motor Cycle and as such there was no reason for him to
demand any amount for purchase of the motor cycle.
Learned Counsel further submitted that the inland letter
(Exh.26) was not filed along with the chargesheet, and
prosecution did not examine the person who reached the
chit (Exh.27) and, as such, both the aforesaid documents
cannot be relied upon. Learned Senior Counsel,
therefore, prayed for setting aside the impugned judgment
and acquit the appellants accused from the charges
levelled against them.
10. Shri Kakade, learned Counsel appearing for
accused no.5, submitted that the allegations made against
the said accused by PW 1 Rangnath are afterthought.
Learned Counsel submitted that against accused no.5
there is absolutely no evidence. Learned Counsel further
submitted that the mother of the deceased Sangita viz.
Pushpabai (PW 5) has stated in her cross examination
that except accused no.1, no one else has made any
demand from them. Learned Counsel submitted that even
otherwise, accused no.5 was residing at a different place
and no such evidence has come on record to show that he
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10 CRI.APPEAL NO.574/2001 580/2001
was the frequent visitor either at village Jalgaon or at
village Shivur. Learned Counsel submitted that the trial
Court has without any evidence against accused no.5 has
held him guilty for the offense under Section 306 as well
as Section 498-A of IPC and also under Section 504 and
506 of IPC. Learned Counsel submitted that the judgment
of the trial Court, therefore, needs to be set aside and the
accused no.5 deserves to be acquitted.
11. Learned A.P.P. Shri S.P. Tiwari supported the
impugned judgment and order. Learned A.P.p. submitted
that since deceased Sangita suffered unnatural death
within seven years of her marriage, presumption under
Section 113-A of the Evidence Act was raised against the
accused and the accused have utterly failed in rebutting
the said presumption. Learned A.P.P. further submitted
that though the inland letter was not filed on record
previously and was not made part of the chargesheet, if
the FIR lodged by PW 1 Rangnath is perused, it contains all
that information which is revealing from the said inland
letter. Learned A.P.P. submitted that the inland letter was
sent by deceased Sangita from Lasur and the same was
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11 CRI.APPEAL NO.574/2001 580/2001
received to PW 1 Rangnath at Shivur prior to about six
months of the alleged incident. As such, according to the
learned A.P.P., the genuineness of the said letter cannot
be doubted. Learned A.P.P. submitted that the
prosecution witnesses have sufficiently proved the charges
levelled against the accused persons. Learned A.P.P.
further submitted that the trial Court has passed well
reasoned judgment and no interference is required in the
impugned order. He, therefore, prayed for dismissal of
both the appeals.
12. I have carefully considered the submissions
advanced by the learned Senior Counsel appearing for the
appellant in Criminal Appeal No.580/2001 and the
submissions made by the learned Counsel Shri Kakade
appearing for the appellant in Criminal Appeal
No.574/2001, and the learned A.P.P. Perused the
impugned judgment and the entire evidence on record.
13. It is not in dispute that deceased Sangita died
within seven years of her marriage. Marriage of Sangita
with accused no.1 was performed on 9th of May, 1995 and
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she died on 15.11.1999. It is further not in dispute that
Sangita suffered an unnatural death. Section 113-A,
Evidence Act, is a presumptive Section which enables a
Court to draw a presumption as to abetment of suicide by
a married woman (punishable under Section 306 of the
IPC) on proof of certain ingredients mentioned therein
including proof of cruelty. Explanation to Section 113-A
states that, ” for the purposes of this Section `cruelty’
shall have same meaning as in Section 498-A of the Indian
Penal Code. Thus, on reading Section 113-A and the
explanation thereto, it is clear that the meaning of
`cruelty’ as defined in Section 498-A has to be imported in
Section 113-A, Evidence Act, while deciding whether the
victim was subjected to cruelty or not. In other words,
cruelty as an ingredient for raising presumption under
Section 113, Evidence Act, must necessarily fall within the
four corners of the meaning of `cruelty’ as defined in
clause (a) or clause (b) of Explanation to Section 498-A of
IPC.
14. Section 498-A of the IPC reads as under:
“498A. Husband or relative of husband of a
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13 CRI.APPEAL NO.574/2001 580/2001woman subjecting her to cruelty.–Whoever, being
the husband or the relative of the husband of a
woman, subjects such woman to cruelty shall be pun-
ished with imprisonment for a term which may
extend to three years and shall also be liable to fine.
Explanation.–For the purpose of this section,
“cruelty” means–
(a) any wilful conduct which is of such a
nature as is likely to drive the woman to commit
suicide or to cause grave injury or danger to life, limb
or health (whether mental or physical) of the woman;
or
(b) harassment of the woman where such
harassment is with a view to coercing her or any
person related to her to meet any unlawful demand
for any property or valuable security or is on account
of failure by her or any person related to her to meet
such demand.”
15. The definition of cruelty, thus, consists of two
parts, namely (a) and (b). It is necessary for the
prosecution to prove that its case falls under any of the
two categories mentioned above though in some cases
both the clauses may overlap. In so far as the instant
case is concerned, clause (b) would be more material since
the harassment of deceased Sangita by the accused
persons is alleged on account of non fulfillment of the
unlawful monetary demands made by the accused.
Perusal of the impugned judgment reveals that the learned
Additional Sessions Judge has held that deceased Sangita
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14 CRI.APPEAL NO.574/2001 580/2001
was subjected to cruelty by the accused persons for non
fulfillment of their monetary demands by deceased Sangita
and her parents. From the evidence on record, it has to
be, therefore, ascertained whether the conclusion so
recorded by the learned Additional Sessions Judge can be
sustained.
16. In order to prove that deceased Sangita was
subjected to cruelty, the prosecution has relied upon the
evidence of PW 1 Rangnath, PW 5 Pushpabai and the
documentary evidence in the form of inland letter
( Exh.26) and the chit (Exh.27) allegedly written by
deceased Sangita to her father.
17. As is revealed through the evidence of PW 1
Rangnath and PW 5 Pushpabai for about one year after
marriage, there was no demand and deceased Sangita was
treated well by the accused persons. As has further come
on record the very first demand made by Accused nos. 1
to 4 was of Rs.50,000/- and accused no.5 was instigating
them for making such demand. As stated by PW 1
Rangnath in paragraph no.3 of his examination in chief in
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March, 1998, deceased Sangita told him about the said
demand of Rs.50,000/-. It is the contention of PW 1 that
he withdrew the amount of Rs.20,000/- from his provident
fund account in March, 1998, and handed over the said
amount to accused no.1 and accused no.5 when they had
been to his house.
18. As has been further deposed by PW 1, few days
thereafter when deceased Sangita had been to Shivoor she
disclosed to PW 1 that her husband and in-laws are
making a grievance that they received less dowry in
marriage and that they have demanded a sum of
Rs.10,000/- so as to enable accused no.1 to purchase Hero
Honda Motor cycle. The evidence of PW 1 further
reveals that at the relevant time accused no.1 had been to
his village to take back deceased Sangita and at that time
he paid accused no.1 an amount of Rs.10,000/- to
purchase the Hero Honda motor cycle and sent deceased
Sangita with accused no.1.
19. As is further revealing from the testimony of PW
1, six months thereafter when deceased Sangita again had
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16 CRI.APPEAL NO.574/2001 580/2001
been to shivoor, she told him that the harassment to her
by the accused persons was intensified and many times
she was kept without food and was also beaten by the
accused. It was also disclosed by her that her harassment
was for the reason that according to the accused persons,
they had received very less dowry in the marriage of
accused no.1. As has been deposed by PW 1, at the
relevant time, he anyhow pacified deceased Sangita and
sent her back to her husband’s house.
20. As has been further deposed by PW 1, prior to
six months of her death, deceased Sangita had written an
inland letter to him which was received to him by post and
in the said letter she had complained that the accused and
more particularly accused no.1 is giving her mental and
physical tortures for not fulfilling the demand of
Rs.50,000/- for construction of the house. It was
complained in the said letter that accused no.1 assaulted
deceased Sangita and did not allow her to sleep. It was
also alleged that accused nos. 2 and 3 assisted accused
no.1 in beating her when she was residing at Jalgaon. It
was also informed by deceased Sangita that accused nos.
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17 CRI.APPEAL NO.574/2001 580/2001
2, 3 and 4 were asking her to bring Rs.20,000/- from her
parents for buying a colour Television and had threatened
her that if she failed to bring that much of the amount, shy
may not survive. Deceased Sangita had also informed that
she was kept without food in the farm house. Sangita had
earnestly requested her father in the said letter that he
shall anyhow make arrangement of Rs.20,000/- in next
two months.
21. Lastly, as has come on record in the evidence of
PW 1 Rangnath, deceased Sangita had been to his house
for the Diwali festival just few days prior to the alleged
incident and at that time had told her father that her
husband i.e. accused no.1 had asked her to bring
Rs.5,000/- for paying the said amount to accused no.5
since he was intending to start cotton business. As has
further come on record through the evidence of PW 1,
after Diwali festival was over, accused no.1 had been to
Shivur and at that time, P.W.1 gave him Rs.5,000/- and
sent deceased Sangita with him.
22. Now, it would be useful to see as to what has
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18 CRI.APPEAL NO.574/2001 580/2001
come on record through the evidence of Pushpabai, PW 5
mother of deceased Sangita. Pushpabai has also deposed
that for one year after her marriage, deceased Sangita was
treated well by her in-laws. As has been further deposed
by her, an amount of Rs.50,000/- was demanded by
accused from deceased Sangita and it was their contention
that when the father of Sangita is in Government service,
he can afford to pay such an amount. Pushpabai has also
deposed that deceased had disclosed to her that she was
being beaten for non fulfillment of the monetary demands
made by the accused persons. As has further come on
record through her evidence, her husband i.e. PW 1
Rangnath obtained loan of Rs.50,000/- from his Provident
fund and gave Rs.20,000/- out of the said amount to
accused no.1 and accused no.5. Pushpabai has further
deposed that two months thereafter accused no.1 had
made a demand of Rs.10,000/- for purchase of motor
cycle and accordingly the said amount of Rs.10,000/- was
given by her husband to accused no.1.
23. PW 5 Pushpabai has also deposed that six
months thereafter when deceased Sangita again had been
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19 CRI.APPEAL NO.574/2001 580/2001
to their house, had disclosed to her about the physical and
mental harassment to her by the accused on account of
non fulfillment of their monetary demands. Pushpabai has
also deposed about receipt of the inland letter and the chit
written by deceased Sangita to P.W.1 Rangnath.
Pushpabai has also deposed that lastly when Sangita had
been to their house, there was demand of Rs.5,000/- by
accused no.1. It was the contention of accused no.1 as
deposed by PW 5 Pushpabai that the said amount was to
be given to accused no.5 to start the cotton business. As
deposed by Pushpabai, such an amount of Rs.5,000/- was
given to accused no.1 when he had been to Shivur to take
back Sangita with him.
24. From the facts as were stated by PW 1
Rangnath and PW 5 Pushpabai in their respective
testimonies before the Court, it reveals that the very first
demand made by accused persons was of Rs.50,000/-.
Though nothing has been specifically deposed by both
these witnesses as to when such demand was made by the
accused, it can be gathered from the facts as are revealing
from their evidence that such demand was made in March,
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1998. In paragraph No.3 of his examination in chief, it is
deposed by PW 1 Rangnath that in March, 1998, it was
disclosed to him by deceased Sangita that she was being
ill-treated and was being tortured by the accused for
bringing the amount of Rs.50,000/-.
25. As deposed by PW 1 Rangnath, after it was
disclosed by deceased Sangita to him that she was being
tortured for bringing the amount of Rs.50,000/- from her
parents, he withdrew the amount of Rs.20,000/- from his
provident fund and in March, 1998, when accused no.1
and accused no.5 had been to their house, handed over
the said amount of Rs.20,000 to accused no.1. No doubt,
PW 5 Pushpabai has corroborated the fact that her
husband gave Rs.20,000/- to accused no.1, however, as
was pointed out by the learned Senior Counsel, the
prosecution has not brought on record any evidence
showing that PW 1 Rangnath had, in fact, withdrawn the
amount from his provident fund account. Further, there
are some inconsistencies as about withdrawal and
utilization of the said amount. When, in the examination
in chief, PW 1 Rangnath has stated that he withdrew an
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21 CRI.APPEAL NO.574/2001 580/2001
amount of Rs.20,000/- from his provident fund account
and gave it to accused no.1 in March, 1998, in his cross
examination he has stated a different fact that he had
taken loan of Rs.52,000/- or Rs.55,000/- from his
provident fund account in March, 1998. PW 1 has
admitted that the said loan was obtained by him by citing
the reason of the marriage of his second daughter. PW 1
has further admitted that at the relevant time the
marriage of his second daughter was settled. In his
further cross examination, he has stated that the loan
amount obtained from the provident fund account was
kept by him in Bank of Maharashtra, Shivur branch. PW
1 has further deposed that the amount of Rs.20,000/-
allegedly given by him to accused no.1 was possessed by
him in cash and while giving the said amount to accused
no.1, he did not make any withdrawal from the provident
fund amount which was kept in the Bank. PW 1 has then
admitted that when he obtained loan from his provident
fund, the date of marriage of his second daughter was
fixed.
26. In light of the facts which have come on record
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through the evidence of PW 1 Rangnath, if the facts as
were stated by PW 5 Pushpabai are perused, there appears
inconsistency on certain material aspects. Though PW 5
Sushilabai has confirmed that her husband PW 1 Rangnath
has obtained loan of Rs.50,000/- from his provident fund,
she has contradicted statement of PW 1 Rangnath that he
had deposited the said amount in his account in the Bank
of Maharashtra. PW 5 Sushilabai has deposed that PW 1
had kept the cash of Rs.50,000/- at home with her and
she had not deposited the said amount in any Bank. She
has further deposed that the said amount remained with
her for five to six months. She has also deposed that PW
1 gave amount of Rs.20,000/- to accused no.1 from the
said loan amount of Rs.50,000/-. Even if it is accepted
that PW 1 and PW 5 deposed before the Court in the year
2001, i.e. after the period of about three years of the
occurrence of the alleged incident and, therefore,
possibility of some variance in stating the facts would be
quite natural, it is difficult to accept that PW 5 Sushilabai
would not be remembering whether the amount of
Rs.50,000/- was kept by PW 1 in Bank of Maharashtra or
was kept at home. It is significant to note that PW 5
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Sushilabai has specifically deposed that her husband had
kept the cash of Rs.50,000/- at home with her. She has
further clarified that she had not kept the said amount in
any Bank. She has further answered that the said
amount remained with her for five / six months. Further,
when it is the contention of PW 1 Rangnath that he paid
the amount of Rs.20,000/- to accused no.1 which he was
possessing in cash at home and did not withdrew the said
amount from provident fund loan account; contrary to that
PW 5 Sushilabai has again made a positive statement that
her husband gave the amount of Rs.20,000/- to accused
no.1 out of the said loan amount of Rs.50,000/- borrowed
by him from the provident fund account. In the
circumstances, doubt is certainly created whether, in fact,
any amount was borrowed by PW 1 from his P.F. Account.
The doubt also arises whether the aforesaid amount was
borrowed by P.W. 1 Rangnath to satisfy the demand of the
accused or for the purpose of the marriage of his second
daughter. As was argued by learned Senior Counsel, it
appears more probable that if at all any amount was
withdrawn by accused No.1, it was withdrawn for the
marriage of his second daughter.
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24 CRI.APPEAL NO.574/2001 580/2001
27. In his testimony before the Court PW 1
Rangnath has deposed that accused no.1 had asked
deceased Sangita to bring from her parents an amount of
Rs.10,000/- for purchase of motor cycle. As has come on
record through his evidence at that time, Sangita had been
to the house of her parents and disclosed the demand
made by her husband of Rs.10,000/- for purchase of
motor cycle. PW 1 has deposed that deceased Sangita
had disclosed to him at that time that she was driven out
of the house by accused no.1 and before that, she was
bitterly beaten by him. PW 1 has also deposed that at that
time deceased Sangita stayed with them for 2/3 days and,
thereafter, accused no.1 had been to his house to take
back Sangita with him. PW 1 has further deposed that at
that time accused no.1 demanded Rs.10,000/- from him
for purchase of motor cycle and, accordingly, he gave him
Rs.10,000/- and sent his daughter with accused no.1.
The facts so stated as above by PW 1 are not fully
corroborated by PW 5 Pushpabai. PW 5 Pushpabai, though,
has deposed that accused no.1 had asked Sangita to
obtain Rs.10,000/- from her father for buying Hero Honda
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25 CRI.APPEAL NO.574/2001 580/2001
motor cycle and, accordingly, PW 1 Rangnath gave
Rs.10,000/- to accused no.1. PW 5 Pushpabai has not
deposed that anything was disclosed to her by deceased
Sangita that she was driven out of her house by accused
no.1 and that she was also beaten by accused no.1.
28. Thereafter, as has come on record, deceased
Sangita had been to her parental house at the time of
Diwali festival just few days prior to the occurrence of the
alleged incident. As has further come on record through
the evidence of PW 1 Rangnath as well as PW 5 Sushilabai,
deceased Sangita at that time, had disclosed to her
parents that accused no.1 had asked her to bring
Rs.5,000/- which he was intending to pay to accused no.5
for the purposes of his cotton business. PW 1 and PW 5
both have stated that accordingly, an amount of
Rs.5,000/- was paid to accused no.1. In so far as the
demand of Rs.5,000/- is concerned, it has come on record
through the evidence of PW 1 Rangnath, that at the
relevant time it was disclosed to him by deceased Sangita
that accused no.1 had threatened her that if she does not
bring that amount of Rs.5,000/-, he would not allow her to
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26 CRI.APPEAL NO.574/2001 580/2001
remain alive. PW 5 Pushpabai, however, has not deposed
any such fact in her testimony before the Court. Thus, the
facts stated by PW 1 Rangnath in his testimony before the
Court that, on both the occasions i.e. when the amount of
Rs.10,000/- was demanded by accused no.1 for the
purchase of motor cycle and, secondly, when the accused
had demanded an amount of Rs.5,000/- for the purposes
of giving the said amount to accused no.5 for cotton
business, threats were given to deceased Sangita that if
she does not bring the amount so demanded, the accused
would not allow her to remain alive, are not corroborated
by PW 5 Sushilabai. Reasonable doubts are, therefore,
created whether, in fact, any such threat was given by
accused no.1 to deceased Sangita as has been deposed by
PW 1 Rangnath.
29. According to the case of the prosecution,
deceased Sangita lastly had been to her parents at village
Shiur prior to three days of the incident of the commission
of suicide by her. As noted above, in her said last visit it
was disclosed by her to her parents that her husband had
demanded Rs.5,000/- which he was intending to give to
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27 CRI.APPEAL NO.574/2001 580/2001
his maternal uncle i.e. accused no.5 for his cotton
business. It has also come on record that at that time
deceased Sangita had been to her parental house for
Diwali festival and accused no.1, accompanied by accused
no.5, had been to Shiur and deceased Sangita was sent
back to her matrimonial house along with them. It has
also come on record that, at that time, accused no.1 also
made a demand towards PW 1 Rangnath to give him
Rs.5,000/-. It has also come on record that accordingly
PW 1 Rangnath gave the said amount to accused no.1. In
sum and substance, the demand which was disclosed by
deceased Sangita and which was also directly made by
accused no.1 to PW 1 Rangnath, was, thus, satisfied. I
reiterate that three days thereafter, deceased Sangita
committed suicide at her matrimonial house at village
Jalgaon. It is not the case of the prosecution and no
such evidence has been brought on record to show that in
the said period of three days i.e. after Sangita and accused
no.1 returned to matrimonial home from the parental
house of deceased Sangita after Diwali festival, deceased
Sangita was subjected to any harassment by the accused
persons on account of any fresh monetary demand or for
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28 CRI.APPEAL NO.574/2001 580/2001
any other reason whatsoever.
30. After having considered the facts as aforesaid,
more particularly that though certain demands were made
by accused no.1 from deceased Sangita, the said demands
were time to time fulfilled by her parents, and when
there is no evidence on record to show that at the time
when deceased Sangita committed suicide, any demand,
allegedly made by accused no.1 or by other accused
persons towards Sangita, and her parents, had remained
unfulfilled, it appears difficult to accept the case of the
prosecution that the act of deceased Sangita to commit
suicide was a result of the persistent harassment caused to
her by the accused persons for non fulfillment of their
unlawful demands.
31. Though it is established that deceased Sangita
vide inland letter at Exh.26 had informed her parents
about the ill-treatment by the accused persons on account
of certain monetary demands, having regard to the
subsequent events showing that the said demands were
complied with, by parents of deceased Sangita, there
appears no nexus in the act of commission of suicide by
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29 CRI.APPEAL NO.574/2001 580/2001
deceased Sangita on 15th Nov., 1999 and the complaints
made by her in the inland letter written by her to her
parents. The inland letter was admittedly written by
deceased Sangita prior to six months of her death and, as
has come on record, thereafter, an amount of Rs.20,000/-
was paid by PW 1 to accused no.1. With the risk of
repetition, I state that the last demand was of Rs.5,000/-
and that was also complied with by the parents of
deceased Sangita. In such circumstances, it is difficult to
accept that deceased Sangita would have committed
suicide for being harassed by her husband and in laws for
non fulfillment of their monetary demands.
32. The chit at Exh.27 was, according to the case of
the prosecution itself, was written by deceased Sangita
after one year of her marriage i.e. in the year 1996.
Moreover, if the contents of the said chit are perused,
what transpires is the fact that instead of the clothes,
accused no.1 was expecting a Television or a 4 gram gold
ring. Further, nothing has come on record to show that
on the said account any harassment was caused to
deceased Sangita by accused no.1 or by the other
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30 CRI.APPEAL NO.574/2001 580/2001
accused. Thus, the said chit also does not have any
nexus with the act of commission of suicide by deceased
Sangita.
33. It has to be stated that no action was initiated
by the parents of deceased after they had received the
inland letter (Exh.26) from deceased Sangita. Admittedly,
PW 1 Rangnath did not hand over the said inland letter to
the Police and produced the same in his evidence before
the Court. PW 5 Pushpabai in her cross examination has
stated that after reading the said inland letter, she did not
get a feeling that she should not keep her daughter with
accused no.1. Further, as I have elaborately discussed
hereinbefore, twice or thrice thereafter deceased Sangita
had been to her parents and in the said visits, another two
demands were made; one, for purchase of motor cycle,
and the other for giving certain amount to respondent no.5
for his cotton business and both demands were fulfilled.
Thus, in no case, it can be said that the complaint as was
made by deceased Sangita in the inland letter at Exh.26
was having any nexus with the incident of commission of
suicide by deceased Sangita.
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31 CRI.APPEAL NO.574/2001 580/2001
34. After having considered the entire evidence on
record, it does not appear to me that the evidence brought
on record by the prosecution was cogent and sufficient for
holding the accused persons guilty for the offenses with
which they were charged.
35. Though it was the case of the prosecution that
accused no.5 was instigating accused nos. 1 to 4 in
making demands from deceased Sangita and her parents
and was also involved in harassing deceased Sangita, no
dependable evidence has come on record against him. In
the letter dated Exh.26 nothing is mentioned by deceased
Sangita about any illtreatment or harassment to her by
accused no.5. It is further significant to note that in her
cross examination, PW 5 Pushpabai has clearly stated that
except accused no.1, no other accused had made any
monetary demand. It has to be further noted that
accused no.5 resides at a different village. Nothing has
been brought on record by the prosecution to show that
accused no.5 was frequent visitor at the house of accused
no.1 at village Jalgaon. Inspite of there being cogent and
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sufficient evidence against the accused no.5, the learned
Sessions Judge has held accused no.5 also guilty for the
offenses punishable under Sections 306 and 498-A of IPC.
Such an order cannot be sustained.
36. The prosecution has also failed in bringing on
record any trustworthy evidence against accused no.4.
No specific overt act was attributed against accused no.4.
Nothing has come on record showing the complicity of
accused no.4 in the act of committing suicide by deceased
Sangita.
37. Against accused no.1, what has come on record
through the evidence of PW 1 and PW 5 is the fact that he
had made certain demands to deceased Sangita and her
parents. As has come on record, the amounts were
demanded by accused no.1 firstly for purchase of house,
then for purchase of motor cycle and lastly, for giving
some financial assistance to accused no.5 for his cotton
business. It has also come on record, as I have
elaborately discussed hereinabove that, all these demands
were fulfilled by the parents of deceased Sangita. To
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33 CRI.APPEAL NO.574/2001 580/2001
attract an offense under Section 498-A of IPC, mere
making of demand of money is not sufficient. It has to be
further proved by the prosecution that deceased was
illtreated or coerced for non fulfillment of the said
demands. Though PW 1 Rangnath has deposed that it
was disclosed to him by deceased Sangita that she was
being illtreated and harassed by accused persons for
bringing certain amounts from her parents, as discussed
by me hereinbefore, PW 5 Pushpabai has not corroborated
the said evidence. The cross examination of PW 5
Pushpabai shows that the facts stated by her as about
illtreatment to deceased Sangita, in the evidence before
the Court were not stated by her when her statement was
recorded by the Police under Section 161 of the Code of
Criminal Procedure.
38. A reasonable nexus has to be established
between the cruelty and the suicide in order to constitute
an offense under Section 498-A of IPC. Even if suicide is
established, it has further to be established that it has
occasioned on account of cruelty which was of sufficient
gravity as to lead a reasonable person placed in similar
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34 CRI.APPEAL NO.574/2001 580/2001
circumstances to commit suicide. To attract Section 498-
A, the prosecution has to establish the willful conduct on
the part of the accused and that the conduct was of such
a nature as was likely to drive wife to commit suicide. It
was sought to be canvassed by the learned A.P.P. that the
cruelty should be held to be proved from the fact of
commission of suicide by deceased Sangita. In other
words, it was argued by learned A.P.P. that from the effect
( namely, suicide), the cause (namely, cruelty) be
presumed. The argument so made by the learned A.P.P.
cannot be accepted. No evidence whatsoever on the
prosecution side shows any overt act on the part of the
accused so proximate in time to show that the act of
deceased Sangita of committing suicide had a direct nexus
with the said overt act of the accused persons. As stated
above, mere making some demands would not be
sufficient to level the charge of cruelty within the meaning
of Section 498-A and the burden lies on the prosecution to
prove that the conduct of the accused was of such a
nature that it drove the wife to commit suicide.
39. It is unfortunate that deceased Sangita ended
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35 CRI.APPEAL NO.574/2001 580/2001
her life at a young age. However, what was transpiring in
her mind at that time has remained undisclosed. Prior to
three days of committing suicide by her, she had returned
from her parental house. At that time, the demand which
was made by accused no.1 was fulfilled by the parents of
deceased Sangita. There is no evidence to show as to
what happened in the said period of three days which
made deceased Sangita to take extreme step of
committing suicide. Though it is brought on record and
proved by the prosecution that accused no.1 had at least
on three occasions made certain monetary demands from
the accused, there appears no nexus in the said demands
and the act of commission of suicide by deceased Sangita
for the reason that all those demands were fulfilled by the
parents of deceased Sangita. If the illtreatment to the
wife is not on account of failure on the part of the parents
of the wife to meet the said demands, requirement of
Explanation-b of Section 498-A are not satisfied and hence
the accused cannot be held guilty for an offense under
Section 498-A of the IPC. In the instant case, the cruelty
alleged by the prosecution was as per Explanation-b to
Section 498-A of IPC, which cannot be said to have been
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36 CRI.APPEAL NO.574/2001 580/2001
proved.
40. After having considered the entire evidence on
record, it does not appear to me that the prosecution has
brought any such evidence on record on the basis of which
the accused could have been held guilty for the offense
punishable under Section 498-A of IPC. In order to
attract the provision of Section 113-A of the Evidence Act,
it must be proved that there was cruelty within the
meaning of definition given under Section 498-A of IPC.
In the circumstances, the conviction of the accused under
Section 306 of IPC also cannot be sustained. Even
otherwise, nothing has been brought on record by the
prosecution to show that the accused in any manner
instigated, incited or encouraged, much less aided, the act
of committing suicide by deceased Sangita. In the
aforesaid circumstances, the order passed by the learned
Sessions Judge cannot be sustained.
41. For the reasons recorded above, I am inclined
to allow both these appeals. Hence, the following order:
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37 CRI.APPEAL NO.574/2001 580/2001
ORDER
1. The judgment and order dated 24.12.2001,
passed by the Second Ad hoc Additional District Judge,
Aurangabad, in Sessions Case No.15/2000 is set aside.
The appellants in both these appeals i.e. accused nos. 1,
4, and 5 are acquitted of the offenses for which they were
charged in the aforesaid Sessions case. Their bail bonds
stand cancelled. Fine amount, if any, paid by them, shall
be refunded to them.
Both the Criminal Appeals stand allowed in the
aforesaid terms. Pending Criminal Applications, if any,
stand disposed of.
(P.R.BORA)
JUDGE
…
AGP/574-580-01cr.appeals
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