VILAS S/O PANDURANG WAIKAR, R/O BARABABHALI, TALUKA NAGAR, DISTRICT AHMEDNAGAR Vs. THE STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Aggrieved by the judgement and order dated 12th June, 2000, passed by Joint District Judge and Additional Sessions Judge, Ahmednagar in Sessions Case No. 38/1999, convicting the present appellant for the offence punishable under section 498-A of the Indian Penal Code and sentencing him to suffer rigorous imprisonment for two years and to pay fine of Rs. 3000.00 with default clause to undergo rigorous imprisonment for two months, the present appeal is preferred. The present appellant as well as the other accused were tried also for the offence punishable under section 306 of the I.P. Code. However, all of them were acquitted of the said offence.

(2.) The brief facts of the case are as under:-

(3.) During investigation, the statements of various witnesses came to be recorded. The panchanama of the spot of incident was drawn. The post-mortem notes were collected and thereafter, the chargesheet came to be filed. It was gathered during the investigation that the deceased, during cohabitation, had earlier filed a complaint on 24th April, 1998 (Exhibit-13), regarding illtreatment to her at the hands of the present appellant and his relatives. However, due to the intervention of the police, ultimately, settlement took place and thereafter on 7th Aug., 1998, her subsequent statement (Exhibit-30) was recorded. In the said statement, she allegedly stated that during the period she was residing independently with her husband at Shahapur under the shelter of complainant PW1 Gunaji Dhas, as and when the appellant used to visit his parents at Barababhali, they instigated him to illtreat her and therefore, she had filed the complaint. She, therefore, had agreed that if in future, her in-laws of Barababhali would not disturb her cohabitation with the appellant, she would resume the cohabitation. Accordingly, the settlement took place and the deceased started residing with the appellant. Thereafter cohabitation resumed. However, thereafter, the death of the deceased occurred due to poisoning i.e. cardio-respiratory failure due to organophospherous poisoning. Therefore, the complaint came to be filed.