STATE OF GUJARAT Vs. JAYENDRAKUMAR @ JAYESH PALABHAI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) BY way of this appeal, the appellant State has challenged the judgment and order of the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Fast Track Court No.2, Jamnagar dated 23.04.2003 rendered in Sessions Case No.128 of 2002, whereby the learned Trial Judge acquitted the original accused opponent herein of the charges for the offences punishable under Sections 498(A), 306 and 114 of the Indian Penal Code (for short "IPC").

(2.) THE brief facts of the prosecution case are that accused no.1 Jayendrakumar @ Jayesh Palabhai is the husband of the deceased, accused no.2 Palabhai Ghaanabhai is the father in law of the deceased, accused no.3 Jaykumar @ Jashu Palabhai and accused no.5 Dipak Palabhai @ D.P. are the brother in law of the deceased and accused no.4 Baluben w/o. Palabhai is the mother in law of the deceased. The further prosecution case is that the deceased was married to accused no.1 three years prior to the incident and she was residing with her husband along with others in a joint family. That five months prior to the incident, the son of the deceased died due to hysteria. Thereafter, the parents of the deceased took the deceased with them and the deceased was staying in her parental house. The accused including her husband did not come to her for taking her to her in -laws house. However, the accused sent message through her relative that they did not want her as she was very slow in her household work, she did not know household work and that her son expired due to hysteria. The accused thus committed mental torture and as she lost her son also, she committed suicide on 31.03.2002 by pouring kerosene on herself and setting herself on fire in the kitchen in her parental house. Thereafter, the deceased was taken in the G.G. Hospital, Jamnagar, where the police had recorded her complaint, and thereafter, she succumbed to the burn injuries. Thereafter, she died.

(3.) AFTER completion of the investigation, the chargesheet was filed before the learned Magistrate Court. As the case was exclusively triable by the Court of Sessions, learned Magistrate Court under Section 209 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (for short "Cr.P.C.") committed the said case to the Court of learned Additional Sessions Judge, Fast Track Court No.2, Jamnagar, which was, thereafter, numbered as Sessions Case No.128 of 2002. Since opponentsaccused did not plead guilty and claimed to be tried, they were tried for the alleged offences.