STATE OF KARNATAKA Vs. MALLESHAPPA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE facts of this case are extremely strange and at the same time, equally distressing. The daughter of the complainant Smt. Gangavva by the name Bharathi was married to one Basavaraj, a resident of Renebennur. Basavaraj has been examined as P. W. 11. Basavaraj was residing in a joint family set up and the consistent evidence is that Basavaraj was very well accepted by Basvarjas family that she was well treated by everybody in the house and furthermore her own family members are unanimous about the fact that the relationship between Bharathi and Basvaraj was also cordial. In this very happy picture emerges one very disturbing element because Bharathi started complaining to her husband that his elder brother Malleshappa (hereinafter referred to as the accused) started making advances to her and furthermore that he was regularly molesting her. The situation was extremely delicate because despite the wifes informing the husband about the alleged misbehaviour of the accused the husband refused to believe it, obviously because accused was his own elder brother. Possibly, the additional reason was accused Malleshappa himself was a married man with a wife who was also residing in the same house. Obviously the husband found these complaints to be not only incredible but unacceptable. According to Bharathis family she repeatedly complained about the misbehaviour of the accused and this was the reason why she kept making several trips to her parents place. The breaking point came when the accused is alleged to have tried to physically molest Bharathi one night in the room when she was sleeping with her husband. She made an issue of this, as a result of which some of the relations were called and when she complained about what had happened they assaulted her for making false allegation, and suggested she go back to her maternal house. Next day Bharathi went back to her maternal house. Thereafter, a panchayat was convened and the panchayathdars are supposed to have suggested that it would be better if Bharathi remarries and the suggestion was that she should be married to the accused. Bharathi was not agreeable to this and therefore, the husbands family was supposed to have agreed to pay Rs. 10,000/- for her remarriage. Since they did not honour this commitment a suit was filed by her mother for recovery of this amount. At or about this time the aunt of the accused wrote a final letter to the mother of Bharathi telling her that either her daughter should resume her marital life with her husband or else the husband will have no option except to look for another wife. Smt. Gangavva, P. W. 1, mother of Bharathi immediately brought her back to the maternal home and it is her evidence that the husband and the family received her well and that the relations between the husband and wife were cordial and after about 15 days since everything was perfect her mother returned to Dharwad. Very shortly after this, Bharathi doused her clothes with kerosene and set them on fire, as a result of which she lost her life. After this incident Gangavva lodged a police complaint alleging that the brother-in-law i. e. , Malleshappa was responsible for continuously harassing and torturing Bharathi and that he continued to do so even after her return and that this was the reason why the girl committed suicide. The accused was placed under arrest and on completion of the investigation he was charge sheeted for the offence punishable under sec. 498a, 307 and 376 read with Sec. 511 of the I. P. C. The trial Court acquitted the accused on the ground that it was impossible to accept the allegations made against the accused. The State has appealed against this order through the present appeal.

(2.) WE have heard the learned Govt. Pleader and the learned counsel who represents the respondent accused at length because the facts of this case are very unusual and at the same time they present a very serious situation where this Court needs to concern itself. The learned Govt. Pleader, who took us through the evidence threadbare, submitted that it was a joint family set up and that the deceased Bharathi was a simple middle class girl and that there was absolutely no ground to believe that she would even dare to make a false allegation against her own brother-in-law if it was not true. Secondly, the learned counsel submitted on the plausibility of the aspect that the Court needs to take into account several circumstances, the first being that on a very delicate and embarrassing subject like this, Bharathi has consistently complained not only to the husband but to her parents and that this complaint was even made before the panchayath. This itself is indicative of the fact that the allegation must be true. Thridly the learned counsel submits that the relations between Bharathi and husband and Bharathi and husbands family were extremely cordial and that she would be the last person to level any charges that would disrupt her marriage or disrupt the domestic relations and this is the strongest indication why her version ought to be accepted. Lastly, the learned counsel points out that this very deep seated and very offensive torture and harassment had gone on for a long time and that nobody was willing to accept Bharathis complaint, neither her husband nor her family members nor for that matter the panchayath, despite she pointing out the obnoxious type of harassment and sexual overtures to which she was being subjected, that she was again brought back to the matrimonial home and that this was the reason for her suicide for which the accused alone is responsible. It was submitted that this is a case in which the acquittal order is required to be set aside.

(3.) RESPONDENTS counsel submitted that unfortunately the person who has made the allegations i. e. , deceased Bharathi, is no longer available at the trial and that consequently all the evidence is secondary evidence. What he points out is that even assuming for the purpose of arguments that the husband refused to listen to the complaints made by the wife against his brother for reasons of family loyalty, etc, that it is a total absurdity and totally impossible to accept that the accused however wicked a man he might have been, would dare to attempt to sexually assault Bharathi at night in the room where she was sleeping with her own husband. His submission is that the trial Court has very rightly analyzed this crucial part of the evidence and held that it will have to be rejected and what is argued before us is that if this vital part of the evidence goes, the rest of the allegations which are of the same nature will also have to be discarded. What is also pointed out to us is that Bharathi finally left the maternal home for the reasons indicated by her. Thereafter the case went to the panchayath, that many months have elapsed and that the deceased had some time after returned and the important fact that the defence has brought out is that the accused Malleshappa was no longer living in the maternal house and he has shifted to a house of his own. In this background what is submitted is that when the suicide took place it is impossible to argue that Malleshappa had anything to do with it. Apart from this, the submission is that since Bharathis family had accepted the panchayaths suggestion that she should remarry for which they would be paid Rs. 10,000/-, that it was very clear that the marriage itself had run into difficulties and the defence contention is that as a face saving device Bharathi had come out with this story about the accused.