VEERA KAUR Vs. STATE OF UTTARAKHAND

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These two Criminal Appeals have arisen from a common judgment dtd. 4/4/2005, passed by learned Additional Sessions Judge/IInd Fast Track Court, Udham Singh Nagar in Sessions Trial No.345 of 2003, 'State Vs. Malkeet Singh and Others', by which, the appellants have been convicted and sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of seven years for the offence under Sec. 304 B of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (in short, 'IPC"); they have been convicted and sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of two years under Sec. 506 IPC, and, they have been further convicted and sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of six months under Sec. 3/4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961. All the sentences have been directed to run concurrently.

(2.) The file of Criminal Appeal No.66 of 2005 has already been consolidated with the file of Criminal Appeal No.55 of 2005.

(3.) The case of the prosecution is that Smt. Surinder Kaur (deceased) was married to the appellant-Malkeet Singh on 14/11/2002. The appellant Smt. Veera Kaur was the mother-in-law of the deceased Smt. Surinder Kaur. Appellant-Kripal Singh was the father-in-law of the deceased. Appellant-Manjit Singh was the brother-in-law (Devar) of the deceased and appellant-Malkeet Singh was the husband of the deceased. Everything was fine till two months of marriage. Thereafter, the appellants started harassing the deceased demanding Rs.50,000.00 and a motorcycle. Whenever she used to come to her parental house, she used to tell about her torture. On the day of her last Rakshabandhan, she had gone to her parental house with her husband. Her husband demanded Rs.50,000.00 and a motorcycle saying that he would not take his wife with him without the money and the motorcycle.