(1.) Present appeals assail the judgment and order dated 12/09/1995 passed by the learned Sessions Judge, Mahesana in Sessions Case No. 136 of 1993, whereby, while acquitting the original accused Nos. 2 to 8 for all the charges levelled against them and the accused No. 1 for the offence punishable under Sec. 304B, 306 and 120B of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (for brevity, 'the IPC'), the learned Sessions Judge was pleased to convict the accused No. 1 for the offence punishable under Sec. 498A and 201 of the IPC and sentenced him to undergo rigorous imprisonment for one year and a fine of Rs. 1,000/ - and in default of payment of fine, to undergo, further imprisonment for three months and for the offence punishable under Sec. 201 of the IPC, he was sentenced to undergo simple imprisonment for six months and a fine of Rs. 500/ - and in default of payment of fine, to undergo, further simple imprisonment for one month.
(2.) Brief facts of the prosecution case are that the deceased and the accused No. 1 got married in the year 1985. The original accused Nos. 5 and 8 were the father -in -law and the mother -in -law, respectively, of the deceased. If was the case of the prosecution that after the marriage, the accused started harassing the deceased for dowry and they used to give her physical and mental torture to her. It was alleged that prior to two months of the incident in question, the accused No. 1 demanded Rs. 50,000/ - from the deceased and for that accused, in the aid and abetment of each other, continued harassment to the deceased. When the same became unbearable, the deceased, on 26/12/1990 in the midnight i.e. within a period of seven years of the marriage, committed suicide by hanging herself with the fan by a saree at her matrimonial home. Further, on the said incident having occurred, the accused, instead of informing the police about the same, allegedly, with a intention to destroy the evidence, performed cremation of the deceased. Thus, the accused committed the alleged offence punishable under Sec. 304B, 306, 498A and 201 r/w. 120B of the IPC and Sec. 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act, for which, a complaint came to be lodged against them.
(3.) We have heard Mr. K.B. Anandjiwala, learned senior advocate for the appellant - accused No. 1 and Mr. L.R. Pujari, learned Additional Public Prosecutor, for the State.