GURURAJ SHETTY Vs. STATE OF KARNATAKA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS appeal is by the convicted accused No. 1 in S.C. No. 182/2001 on the file of Principal Sessions Judge, D.K., Mangalore and is directed against the judgment of conviction and order of sentence dated 19.3.2005 passed in the said case convicting him for the offences punishable under Section 306 IPC and Section 3 of the Dowry Prohibition Act ("D.P. Act  for short), and sentencing him to undergo imprisonment and also to pay fine.

(2.) THE appellant, his elder brother -Harish Shetty and elder sister -Vijaya were tried in the above case for the offences punishable under Sections 498A, 304B and 306 read with Section 34 of IPC and Sections 3, 4 and 6 of the D.P. Act. The deceased in the case was one Thara daughter of P.W. 4 -Mahalinga Shetty and wife of the appellant. Marriage of the deceased with the appellant was solemnized on 24.8.2000. After the marriage she joined her husband in the matrimonial home. In the early hours of 4.10.2000, said Thara left the matrimonial home and did not return. The appellant finding that his wife is not seen in the house from the morning, went to the house of P.W. 4 and enquired as to whether his wife has come there and informed P.W. 4 that Thara is not seen in the matrimonial home from the early morning. Immediately, P.W. 4 lodged a report Ex.P.3 about missing of his daughter. Thereafter in the early hours of 5.10.2000, the dead body of the deceased was found floating in a pond in the garden land of CW.22 -Padmanaba Bhat situated between the parental and matrimonial homes of the deceased. CW.22 on seeking the dead body in the pond made a report as per Ex.P.12 based on which P.W. 6 -C.K. Mohan, Head Constable, Mangalore Police Station registered case in UDR No. 48/2000. Thereafter the dead body was taken out of the pond and inquest was conducted on the dead body by P.W. 10 -Ramesh Paduvalker, Tahsildar and Taluka Executive Magistrate. Thereafter the body was subjected to post -mortem examination. P.W. 5 -Dr. L.L. Jushva conducted post -mortem examination. During post -mortem examination, he preserved Vicera and sent them for chemical examination. The chemical examiner ™s report did not reveal presence of any poisonous material. Thereafter P.W. 5 furnished his opinion as to the cause of death that the death was due to asphyxia as a result of drowning and submitted post mortem report as per Ex.P.9. In the meanwhile, P.W. 2 had made a statement as to the circumstances leading to the death of the deceased and the same was recorded as per Ex.P.4 between 5 and 5.30 p.m. on 15.10.2000. Based on the said report, P.W. 8 -Chandrashekar, Police Sub -Inspector, Mangalore Rural Police Station registered the case in Crime No. 286/2000 and submitted First Information Report to the jurisdictional Magistrate. During investigation, statements of witnesses were recorded, the accused persons were apprehended and after completion of the investigation charge sheet came to be laid.

(3.) ON hearing both sides and on assessment of oral as well as documentary evidence, the learned Sessions Judge by the judgment under appeal, acquitted elder brother and sister of the appellant arraigned as accused Nos. 2 and 4 for the charges held against them. However the learned Sessions Judge held the appellant guilty of the offence punishable under Section 306 of IPC and Section 3 of the D.P. Act. Consequently, the appellant was convicted for the aforesaid offences and sentenced to undergo imprisonment and also to pay fine as stated supra. Aggrieved by the said judgment of conviction and order of sentence, the appellant is before this Court.