RANGEGOWDA Vs. STATE OF KARNATAKA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Assailing the judgment of conviction for the offences punishable under Ss. 498A and 304B of IPC and the order of sentence to undergo imprisonment and pay fine, the accused filed this appeal.

(2.) The accused is the husband of deceased Lakshmidevi. The alleged offence occurred on 10.12.2007. After investigation, charge-sheet was filed and the case being triable exclusively by the Court of Sessions was committed to the Sessions Court at Bengaluru City and was registered as S.C. No.567/2008. The accusation made by the prosecution, when read over, having been denied by the accused by pleading "not guilty" and he having claimed trial, the prosecution, to prove its case examined 18 witnesses as PW1 to PW18, through whom Exs.P1 to P28 were marked apart from marking of M.Os.1 to 5. The accused-appellant was found guilty and the impugned judgment was passed.

(3.) Parents of the deceased/PWs 1 and 2, elder brother of the deceased and his wife i.e., sister-in-law of the deceased/PWs 3 and 4 have turned hostile. Even PW5, deceased's brother's wife has turned hostile. So also the owner of the house / PW-7, in whose house the accused and the deceased with their children last resided. PW-18 - Dr. B.G. Thilak, has certified the ability of deceased to give statement. Ex.P22 is the first dying declaration dated 10.12.2007. There is a second dying declaration on 12.02.2007, marked as Ex.P12. PW-11 is the brother of the deceased and PW-12 is the cousin of the deceased and they have supported the prosecution.