JAGDISH PRASAD Vs. STATE OF UTTARAKHAND

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present Criminal Appeal has been filed against the judgment dtd. 19/8/2004, passed by learned District and Sessions Judge, Rudraprayag in Sessions Trial No.2 of 2004, "State Vs. Jagdish Prasad", by which, the appellant-accused has been convicted under Sec. 498-A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (in short, "IPC") and has been sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of two years along with a fine of Rs.5,000.00, and, he has been convicted and sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of seven years for the offence punishable under Sec. 304-B IPC. Both the sentences have been directed to run concurrently.

(2.) Prosecution case, in brief, is that Smt. Bhuvneshwari (deceased) was married to the appellant on 11/6/2003. After marriage, appellant started harassing her for demand of dowry. Once the appellant had beaten her badly in her mother's house. Appellant used to tell her that she had not even brought a color television. Appellant had threatened her several times that he would push her into the river. On 1/9/2003, the brother of the appellant went to her mother's house and informed that she had committed suicide by hanging herself.

(3.) Smt. Dhuma Devi (PW3), Bhuvneshwari's step- mother, gave a written information (Ext.Ka.8) to the Sub- Divisional Magistrate, Ukhimath on 25/9/2003, on which the Naib Tehsildar was directed to inquire the matter. On 25/9/2003 itself, Naib Tehsildar, Ukhimath, directed the Patwari, Bheeri to inquire the matter and take legal action. Patwari, Bheeri had received information about the incident on 1/9/2003 itself. The inquest proceedings were conducted by him on the same day and post-mortem examination of the dead body was conducted on 2/9/2003, while the First Information Report was registered by Patwari, Bheeri on 11/11/2003 on the basis of the written information dtd. 25/9/2003 (Ext.Ka.8).