THIMMEGOWDA Vs. STATE BY MAHALAKSHMI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Petitioner has suffered an order of conviction for the offences punishable under Section 498-A of I.P.C. and Sections 3 and 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act (hereinafter referred to as the 'D.P. Act', for short).

(2.) Learned counsel for petitioner at the outset submitted that the Courts below have failed to consider the contradictions brought out in the evidence of the prosecution witnesses and that the conviction has been recorded based on the evidence of interested witnesses and no independent witness was examined to establish the ingredients of the offences charged against the petitioner(hereinafter referred to as 'accused No.1')- It is further contended that no evidence was produced in proof of demand and acceptance of dowry and therefore the trial Court has erred in convicting accused No.1 for the offences punishable under Sections 3 and 4 of the D.P. Act. Further, the learned counsel would submit that based on the very same evidence, the trial Court and the First Appellate Court having acquitted accused Nos.2 to 4, by the same yardstick, the petitioner also should have been acquitted of the above charges.

(3.) These submissions are seriously contested by the learned counsel for respondent No.2 and learned HCGP for respondent No.1 and by referring to the evidence of complainant-PW1, which is duly corroborated by the evidence of her father-PW5 and two independent witnesses namely PW3 and PW4 would submit that the prosecution has established the ingredients of the offence punishable under Section 498-A of IPC as well as the ingredients of the offences punishable under Sections 3 and 4 of the D.P. Act beyond reasonable doubt and moreover, the Courts below having recorded concurrent findings of fact after analyzing the evidence of the prosecution witnesses, there is no scope for this Court to re-appreciate the evidence or to differ with the view taken by the Courts below as long as the view taken by the Trial Court is based on the evidence let in by the prosecution.