STATE OF MAHARASHTRA Vs. RAMESH RAGHAVJI SHAH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) IN this appeal, the State has impugned the order dated 27th January, 1987 passed by the Additional Sessions Judge, Pune acquitting all the accused of the offences punishable under section 498-A read with 34 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (I. P. C. " for short) and acquitting accused No. 1 Ramesh Shah of the offence under section 307 of I. P. C. The learned trial Judge has based his order of acquittal on the ground that the prosecution evidence on record is insufficient, discrepant and not credible enough to bring home the guilt to the accused. All the accused have been charged under section 498-A read with section 34 of I. P. C. while accused No. 1 husband of the victim, has been separately charged under section 307 of I. P. C.

(2.) BRIEFLY, the prosecution case is that: the complainant Smt. Rashila Shah married the accused No. 1 Ramesh Shah in the year 1983. After the marriage, the complainant stayed in the matrimonial house with the accused persons. For some time, her married life was happy but thereafter marital relations soured up. There were allegations of ill-treatment of the complainant at the hands of the accused and also demands for maruti car, gold locket and diamond ring from the parents of the complaint. The harassment went on for 1? year i. e. till the complainant was forced to leave the matrimonial home and to live with her parents judicial proceedings were instituted by accused No. 1 against complainant wife Rashila. However, through intervention and good offices of Oswal Chovisi Mahajan, a conciliation was brought about and the complainant was returned back to the matrimonial home on condition that she will not visit to her parental house at Bombay. However, the complainant alleged that she was again subjected to ill-treatment and beating and there were renewed demands for maruti car, gold locket, diamond ring, etc.

(3.) ON the evening of 4th May, 1986, after return of the entire family from an outing, at about 10. 45 p. m. , the complainant and accused No. 1 retired to their bed room. On the accused No. 1, the husband, asking the complainant to take off her clothes she complied. Thereupon accused No. 1 inflicted a couple of blows on her chest and when she shouted for help; the accused No. 1 thrust the four fingers of his right hand deep into her mouth and pressed her neck with the other hand. In the course of struggle, the complainants head struck against a wooden cot resulting in bleeding injury above her right eye-lid. The father-in-law, accused No. 2 Raghavji, who was in the adjoining room, hearing the commotion forcefully opened the door and finding the complainant naked asked her to dress up and thereafter, he asked her to wipe off the blood stains on the floor. Hearing the shouts of the complainant, several occupants of the building collected in the chowk and some of the them, namely, P. W. 3 Chandrakant Kamble, P. W. 4 Rashiklal Shah, P. W. 6 Arvind Parkhe and others rushed to the flat and prevented the accused No. 1 from further assaulting the complainant. The P. W. 6 Arvind rang up Shaniwar Peth Police Chowki and Police Head Constable Narayan Bhalerao accompanied by another Constable came to the flat. Rashila Shah was taken to the Police Chowky on foot accompanied with some witnesses. The police then referred the complainant to Sasoon General Hospital, Pune, where she was first examined in the Casualty Ward at 1. 50 a. m. i. e. on 5th May, 1986. The injury certificate from the Casualty Medical Officer is at Exhibit 29. Thereafter Rashila Shah was again examined by P. W. 1 Dr. V. N. Agarwal, Chief Resident Medical Officer at 3. 30 a. m. after being admitted in the female ward and the injury certificate at Exhibit 7 was recorded which made note of other injuries which were not recorded in injury certificate Exhibit 29, particularly, the abrasion at left anterior tonsillar pillar in the mouth and on palate. The complaint (Exhibit 10) of Rashila Shah was recorded in the hospital by Police Head Constable Narayan Bhalerao (P. W. 10 ). Thereafter the complaint was sent to the Vishrambaug Police Station where Crime No. 138/1986 for offence under section 498-A of I. P. C. was registered at 12. 05 p. m. on 5th May, 1986. On the same day the Investigating Officer P. W. 11, P. S. I. Shri D. N. Pawar same day recorded statements of all six witnesses and all the three accused persons were placed under arrest and remanded to judicial custody on 7th May, 1986. On 8-5-1986 he recorded the statement of P. W. 8 Gomatiben Shah on 9th May, 1986, a supplementary statement of Rashila Shah was recorded. On receipt of injury certificate from the Sasoon Hospital and reply of Dr. V. N. Agarwal to the query from the police, which is at Exhibit 8, section 307 of I. P. C. was added in substitution of section 323 of I. P. C. On completion of investigation, accused were charge-sheeted under sections 498-A and 307 read with section 34 of I. P. C. in the Court of Judicial Magistrate, F. C. , Court No. 4, Pune.