SURENDER KUMAR Vs. STATE NCT OF DELHI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By this appeal the appellants have assailed the judgment dated 18.3.1999 passed by learned Addl. Sessions Judge whereby the appellants Surender Kumar and Ashwani Kumar were convicted under Section 308 read with Section 34 of Indian Penal Code and Surender Kumar was convicted under Section 498A IPC as well and against the order on sentence dated 23.3.1999 whereby the appellant Surender Kumar was sentenced to undergo RI for two years and fine of Rs.1000/- under Section 498A IPC and the two appellants were sentenced to RI for five years and fine of Rs.1000 under Section 308 read with Section 34 of IPC.

(2.) The case was registered against four persons on the statement of complainant Mamta who, in her complaint dated 9.3.1992, stated that she was living with her family at House No.86/14, Sector-I, Pushp Vihar, New Delhi. She was married to appellant Surender Kumar on 2.2.1992. Her parents used to live at Sarojini Nagar. A day before the incident, her husband had taken her to her parents house and then brought her back to her matrimonial home at 4 pm. On the night intervening 8th and 9th March, 1992, she was beaten up by her husband and to suppress her cries from outsiders, a tape recorder was played. Daily she used to be told that she had brought less dowry and she should bring more dowry. On the morning of 9.3.1992, she telephoned her father and called him. Her father and brother came to her matrimonial home to take her to her parents' house. When they (she, her father and brother) had come downstairs for going to parental house, her husband called her upstairs to open the lock of Almirah. On her going upstairs, her husband and her Dewar Ashwani Kumar, bolted the door from inside and thereafter both of them picked her up and threw her down from balcony, due to which she received injuries on her body. She further stated that her mother-in-law, brother-in-law Braham Prakash(elder brother of husband), her husband, her other brother-in-law Ashwani Kumar should be prosecuted as per law. A case under Section 498A/308/34 IPC was registered against all the four persons namely Surender Kumar, Braham Prakash, Ashwani Kumar and Parmeshwari Devi. All the four were charged under Section 498A read with Section 34 of IPC while appellant Surender Kumar and Ashwani Kumar were also charged with section 308 read with section 34 of the IPC.

(3.) Mrs. Mamta appeared as PW-1 before the Trial Court and in her testimony before the Court she did not restrict herself to the statement given by her initially to the police and made a lot of improvements in that. Before the Court, she stated that all the accused persons harassed her and tortured her for not bringing sufficient dowry. Accused Surinder used to tell her that she would meet the same fate as wife of Narender. Accused Braham Prakash also used to say same thing and they used to say that her parents were supposed to pay huge amount of dowry. Regarding 8.3.1992, she deposed that on that day she had gone to her parents house as she was told by her husband that she should bring Rs.25,000/- from her parents as he was to purchase a scooter. Her husband Surender left her at her parents' house. She told her parents to give her Rs.25,000/- but her parents had no money to give her. She brought certain certificates along with her from her parents' house since she was to clear SSC Examination. Accused Surender had also told her and threatened her to return from her house within 15 minutes otherwise he would kill her. She was then taken to her matrimonial house at Preet Vihar and there her mother-in-law asked her if she had brought Rs.25,000/- from her parents house. She told her mother-in-law that she had not brought money as her parents were not in a position to pay the amount. On this, her husband Surender switched on a tape recorder on high pitch and gave her beatings and told that she would be given more beatings when Ashwani would come. On 9.3.1992, on her making a telephone call, her father and brother came to her in-laws' house at about 8 am and she told them that she was beaten and should be taken away from the house. The accused persons told her father and brother that she would be sent in the evening or on the next day. However, she was not prepared to remain in the house of her husband as she feared for her life as earlier her husband Surender had told her that acid would be thrown on her person and he had brought acid for that purpose. When she tried to pack her clothes, accused persons did not allow her to do so. However, she came downstairs despite resistance of accused persons. They used to live at 3rd Floor. Accused Ashwani and Surender (appellants in this case) came downstairs and told that their mother was calling her and wanted to know where the keys of almirah were kept. She, therefore, went upstairs. On her reaching upstairs in the room, Surender bolted the door from inside. Accused Ashwani, Surender and Parmeshwari Devi were in the room. Her mother-in-law Permeshwari Devi did not allow her to go to her parents' house but she requested her to allow her to go to her parents' house. On this, she was given beatings with fists and slaps. She was not allowed to escape from there and then accused persons told her that she would be allowed to go from different passage. She was then dragged to the balcony and accused Surender, Ashwani and her mother-in-law physically lifted her and thrown her on the ground floor from 3rd floor. She sustained injuries on her legs, her back bone and other parts of body. She lost consciousness but regained it in the hospital. She was removed to Modi Hospital. From there she was removed to Safdarjung Hospital on 10.3.1992 where she remained admitted up to 1.5.1992.