RAJARAMAN Vs. STATE OF TAMIL NADU

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS appeal has been preferred by the accused against the conviction for the offence punishable under Section 304 (B) of IPC and sentence to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of 8 years and a fine of Rs. 1,000/- in default to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of two months.

(2.) THE brief facts of the case are as follows:- The appellant is the husband of the deceased Sakunthala. P. W. 1 is the brother, P. W. 2 is the mother and P. W. 3 is the uncle of the deceased. On 8. 9. 1994, the appellant/accused and the deceased got married in a temple at Gobichettipalayam and the marriage invitation is Ex. P4. At the time of their marriage, the accused has demanded 10 sovereigns of gold jewels but the deceased was given 7 sovereigns of gold jewels only and other customary Sridhana properties were also given. Three months after the marriage, when the appellant/accused and the deceased went to the house of P. W. 1 for their first Deepavali, the accused demanded P. W. 1 to present gold ring. At that time, P. W. 1 told to the accused that it was not possible and he would give later. Aggrieved over the same, the accused left the deceased Sakunthala and went to his native place.

(3.) AFTER a month, the deceased was taken to the house of the accused, where the accused and the deceased lived separately, for the extension of his business, the accused demanded the deceased a sum of Rs. 10,000/- or Rs. 20,000/-, for which the father of the accused questioned the accused, due to which he bet his father. The deceased Sakunthala went to her fahter''s house. Thereafter, she stayed in her brother''s house for nearly 4 or 5 months. Then the deceased gave birth a male child. After delivery of the child, even though intimation was sent regarding the birth of his male child, the accused never came to see her and his child. Thereafter, the deceased Sakunthala and the child were taken to the house of the accused and left there. Sometime later, P. W. 1 received a telegram stating that Sakunthala died and P. Ws. 1 and 2 went to the house of the accused, where they saw the said Sakunthala was alive and when questioned the accused, he simply stated that he did it only for fun. Thereafter, P. Ws. 1 to 3 and 6 went to Mayiladuthurai Police Station, where they gave complaint-Ex. P1 to P. W. 9-Inspector. She examined P. Ws. 1,2 and the deceased Sakunthala, who gave Ex. P14 statement. Thereafter they took the deceased to P. W. 1''s house and then, Soundararajan took the deceased to the house of the accused, where she lived for a period of two months. After that, P. W. 1 received Ex. P2-telegram, in which it was mentioned that Sakunthala was serious in condition and thereafter, they received Ex. P3 telegram in which it was stated that Sakunthala died. After receiving the telegram-Ex. P3, P. Ws. 1 and 2 rushed to Mayiladuthurai.