SANJAY KUMAR JAIN Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Criminal appeal No.107/2000 is directed against the judgment dated 1 st February, 2000 of the Additional Sessions Court in case FIR No. 195/93 in P.S. Shalimar Bagh under sections 498-A, 304-B and 306 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC). The appellant is Sanjay Kumar Jain, who has filed the appeal under the following circumstances. Criminal Revision Petition No.237/2000 has been filed by Bishan Swarup Jain against the acquittal of the parents of Sanjay Kumar Jain by the same judgment.

(2.) The appellant married Kavita Jain, the deceased, on 19-2-1989. A male child was born to them on 6-3-1990. They were residing at the first floor of house No.BFH-9, Shalimar Bagh, Delhi along with the parents (Harish Jain and Manju Jain) of the appellant. They were tenants; the landlord Tilak Singh Yadav was residing in the ground floor with his family. On 19-7-1993, at about 6-30 AM, he heard the shrieks of a woman from the first floor from the side where the bathroom is located; he went up to the first floor, woke up the appellant, who tried to open the bathroom but could not; he walked along the shaft from the other bathroom, broke open the window pane of the bathroom from which the shrieks came and found his wife lying on the floor of the bathroom with her body burnt fully. The appellant's parents were not at home; they had gone for their morning walk. Tilak Singh Yadav informed the police. A post-mortem was conducted at around 9 AM. At 4-30 PM the Investigating Officer (IO) recorded the statement of the father of the deceased, i.e., Bishan Swarup Jain who spoke about dowry demands from the family of the appellant, torture and physical abuse of his daughter; he referred, inter alia, to the reference made by her to a demand made on 11- 7-1993 by her in-laws for a Maruti car. On 20-7-1993 the appellant was taken into custody. The inquest was conducted by the Sub-divisional Magistrate on 21-7-1993. On 26-9-1993 a charge sheet was filed charging the appellant and his parents under sections 34, 306, 304-B and 498-A of the IPC. The trial court acquitted the parents of the appellant, but the appellant was found guilty of the offences under section 304-B (causing dowry death within 7 years of marriage) and section 498-A (subjecting wife to cruelty driving her to death). The appellant was sentenced to seven years R.I. under the former and to two years and fine of Rs. 1000 under the latter.

(3.) The findings of the trial court are as follows: