NANDLAL DATTUSING PARDESHI Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS revision application arises from the judgment and order dt. 16/9/1992 passed by the Sessions Judge, Ahmednagar, in Criminal Appeal No. 53/1991. By the impugned judgment and order, the lower Appellate Court has dismissed the criminal appeal filed by the petitioners against the order dt. 19/9/1991 passed by the assistant Sessions Judge, Ahmednagar, in Sessions Case No. 75/1990, convicting and sentencing the petitioners for the offences punishable under Section 498a and 306 of IPC. By the said order, the Assistant Sessions Judge, while convicting the petitioners under Section 498-A and 306 r/w Section 34 of IPC had sentenced the petitioners to suffer rigorous imprisonment for a period of five months and directed to pay a fine of Rs. 500/- and in default, to undergo six months rigorous imprisonment. As far as conviction under Section 306 of IPC and under Section 498a of ipc is concerned, they were sentenced to undergo one year rigorous imprisonment and directed to pay a fine of Rs. 250/- and in default, rigorous imprisonment for three months was imposed. Sentences were, obviously, ordered to run concurrently. Though the charge against the petitioners was also under Section 304b, the petitioners were acquitted of the said offence.

(2.) IT is the contention of the petitioners that both the orders i. e. conviction and confirmation thereof are illegal and disclose findings, which are totally arbitrary and perverse, in as much as, the conviction of the petitioners is based solely upon three letters, alleged to have been written by the deceased Shobha, without any proof thereof and on the basis of the testimony of the brother of the deceased Shobha and one neighbour of the complainant which ex-facie, discloses to be untrustworthy testimony and therefore, this is a fit case for interference by this court in its revisional jurisdiction.

(3.) THE prosecution case is that the deceased Shobha was real sister of the complainant Arunsingh (PW3 ). After her marriage with the petitioner no. 1 -Nandlal dattusing Pardeshi on 20/12/1985, a period of one year in company with each other passed peacefully, but thereafter, petitioners started demanding Rs. 500/- for clothes and a Fan and on that ground started ill-treating her, which even consisted of act of beating. It is further case of the prosecution that inspite of the assurance of providing necessary funds for purchase of clothes and a Fan by her parents, the ill-treatment to Shobha tontinued and ultimately, Shobha fell ill. The complainant Arunsing got her admitted to the hospital of one Dr. Kanchan Kota at Shahabad and on the advice of the said Doctor, he shifted Shobha to the hospital of Dr. Kanga at Gulbarga where she was treated for breast cancer. The complainant-Arunsing informed the same to the petitioners, but they did not even bother to visit Shobha. In fact, ill-treatment was informed by the deceased Shobha to her brother the complainant arunsing, by sending letters. After the operation, the petitioners came to the house of the complainant -Arunsing and forced him to send the deceased Shobha to her matrimonial house and further threatened that if she were not be sent forthwith, the petitioner no. 1 would contract a second marriage. The complainant -Arunsing, therefore, sent the deceased Shobha along with the petitioners, but, thereafter, the petitioners continued to ill-treat the deceased Shobha on the ground of refusal on the part of Shobha to give consent for the second marriage by the petitioner no. 1.