PRADEEP KUMAR Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is a criminal revision against the order of learned ASJ dated 20th March, 1992 whereby charge under Section 306 read with Section 34 Indian Penal Code was framed against the petitioners.

(2.) Smt. Veena was married to Subhash Chand sometime in January 1986 according to Hindu customs. The allegation against the revisionists, namely Pradeep Kumar, brother-in-law of the deceased, Km. Shashi and Km. Suman, sisters-in- law of the deceased and Smt.Raj Rani, mother-in-law of the deceased and Subhash Chand, husband of the deceased is that they used to harass the deceased and treated her with cruelty which drove her to despair resulting in her suicide.

(3.) According to the dying declaration of the deceased, she resided in the house of her in-laws along- with her husband Subhash Chand, mother-in-law, two sisters- in-laws and brother in-law. There used to be altercations on small and trivial matters. Sisters-in-law used to quarrel with her and the mother-in-law & the husband did not cooperate with her. Suman, petitioner No. 4 slapped her about three and a half months before the incident and also pushed her and threw soap water in her eyes. Thereafter the deceased started living separately on the first floor of the house alongwith her husband and children. This did not diminish the tension in the family. On 4th June, 1989, the deceased asked Subhash Chand to accompany her to the 'chola ceremony of her sister's son. But the husband refused to go with her. This resulted in a quarrel between the husband & wife and the former slapped the latter. The deceased thereupon consumed "Def", an insecticide, and then poured kerosene oil over her body and set herself ablaze. According to the dying declaration the deceased took this step as being wary of daily quarrels.