SHAKUNTLA DEVI Vs. STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The instant appeal has been preferred by the sole accused against the order dtd. 22/3/2018 passed by the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad in Criminal Appeal No. 627 of 2003 wherein the appellant's conviction under Ss. 304B and 498A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 ["IPC", hereinafter] and Ss. 3 and 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 ["DP Act", hereinafter] was converted into that under Sec. 306 of the IPC with sentence of 3 years rigorous imprisonment.

(2.) Brief facts of the case are that the accused-appellant is the mother-in-law of the deceased, Smt. Kusum, who was aged about 22 years and was married to the son of the accused-appellant, one Rajendra Kumar, on 14/5/1997. Smt.Kusum died on 4/5/1998 at her matrimonial home. FIR dtd. 8/5/1998 was filed by the father of the deceased against the appellant under Ss. 498A and 304B of the IPC along with Ss. 3 and 4 of the DP Act.

(3.) It was alleged in the said FIR that the complainant had been informed numerous times by the deceased that her mother-in-law, i.e. the appellant herein, used to mentally and physically torture the deceased for getting lesser amount of dowry. It was due to this maltreatment that the deceased had come to her parental house on 25/4/1998 and had informed her parents that the appellant has again demanded a sum of Rs.25,000.00 and a golden chain. Since the parents of the deceased had to attend a wedding in another village and the deceased was pregnant at the time, they did not think it fit to leave her alone at the parental home. As such, they convinced the deceased daughter and sent her back to her matrimonial house on 1/5/1998 along with her younger brother Sandeep Kumar on the assurance that after returning from the said wedding, the father of the deceased shall resolve the issue of dowry with the appellant. However, when the parents of the deceased returned to their home on 5/5/1998, they were informed that the deceased-daughter had died on 4/5/1998.