LALITABEN AND ORS. Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These appeals are directed against the common judgment and order of the High Court of Gujarat at Ahmedabad in Criminal Appeal Nos. 1174 and 1629 of 2005, dated 11.08.2009. By the impugned judgment and order the High Court has confirmed the order of conviction and sentence for the offence punishable Under Section 498-A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (for short, "the Indian Penal Code"), and has confirmed the order of conviction but modified the order of sentence for the offence punishable Under Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code. The brief facts of the prosecution case are that early morning on 14.10.1997 the deceased Shobhana committed suicide in her matrimonial home by taking poison. She was taken to the hospital where she was declared to have been brought dead. Thereafter, the father of the deceased lodged a complaint before the police wherein he stated that the husband, mother-in-law, father-in-law, sister-in-law and brother-in-law of the deceased, who are the Appellants-herein, had subjected her to extreme physical and mental cruelty and thereby compelled her to commit suicide.

(2.) The complainant stated that the deceased had been married for a period of two and a half years at the time of the commission of suicide, and had a ten month old son. Soon after her marriage, the Appellants began to subject her to physical and mental cruelty and harassment. The sister-in-law of the deceased would taunt her. The husband of the deceased would bring home work involving the stitching of buttons, and the Appellants would reprimand the deceased to complete the entire work of stitching buttons within the night. The son of the deceased was only a few months old, and as a result, she would have to attend to him at night, due to which she would be unable to complete the work of stitching buttons. Thereupon, the Appellants would beat her. The sister-in-law and mother-in-law of the deceased would not allow the deceased to feed her son. On three occasions, when the deceased visited her maternal home, she narrated the instances of physical and mental cruelty she faced to the complainant.

(3.) On the basis of the complaint a First Information Report was registered for the offences punishable Under Sections 306, 498-A and 114 of the Indian Penal Code. After the completion of investigation charge-sheet was filed. The case was triable exclusively by the Sessions Court and therefore the case was committed to the Additional Sessions Judge, Fast Track Court, Rajkot. Thereafter, the Appellants appeared before the Additional Sessions Judge and after both sides were heard, charges were framed against the Appellants for the offences punishable Under Sections 306 and 498-A of the Indian Penal Code. The charges were read over and explained to the Appellants who pleaded not guilty. Accordingly, the case was committed to Trial.