CHANDRU Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This Criminal Appeal is directed against the conviction and sentence passed against the appellant/A.1 by the Court of II Fast Track Sessions Judge, Chennai as per the judgment dated 5.2.2002 rendered in Sessions Case No.302 of 2001.

(2.) Tracing the history of the above criminal appeal coming to be preferred by the appellant, what comes to be known is that a case in Sessions Case No.302 of 2001 has been registered by the respondent against the appellant and his mother for offences punishable under Sections 304-B and 498-A IPC on allegations such as that the marriage between the first accused, the appellant herein, and the deceased Parvathi was solemnized in the year 1995; that thereafter both the appellant and his mother, the second accused before the Court of Sessions, started harassing the said Parvathi demanding dowry and without being able to bear with the dowry harassment and torture, the said Parvathi, the wife of the appellant, committed suicide by hanging on 9.4.1999 at 4.30 p.m. at D.No.2, Jeevanandan Street, K.K.Nagar, Chennai and hence the charge against both the accused under the provisions of the IPC, extracted supra.

(3.) During trial, the respondent/prosecution whose duty it was to prove the said charge beyond all reasonable doubts, as it is the standard of proof fixed by law, in discharge of the burden cast on it, has examined eleven witnesses for oral evidence as P.Ws.1 to 11. P.Ws.1 and 2 are the brothers of the deceased, P.W.3 is the sister-in-law of the appellant/first accused, P.W.4 is the sister's son of the first accused, P.W.5 was the Tahsildar, Mambalam, P.Ws.6 and 7 are the mahazar witnesses, P.W.8 is the Post Mortem Doctor, P.W.9 is the Grade-I Constable, who was in-charge of the body of the deceased for post mortem, P.W.10 is the Inspector of Police who registered the complaint and FIR and P.W.11 is the Assistant Commissioner of Police and the Investigating Officer.