PRAMOD RAGHO KAPSE Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Learned 6th Additional Sessions Judge, Nagpur convicted the two accused in Session Trial No. 596 of 1992 for an offence punishable under Section 498-A read with 34 of the Penal Code and acquitted them of the offence punishable under Section 302 read with 34 of the Penal Code. Aggrieved thereby the accused have preferred Criminal Appeal No. 175 of 1996 and the State has preferred Criminal Appeal No. 244 of 1996.

(2.) The facts which led to prosecution of the accused are as under : Deceased Chhaya was married to accused No. 1 Pramod about two years prior to the incident dated11-04-1992. Accused No. 2 Janabai is Chhaya's mother-in-law. It was the prosecution case that two accused used to ill-treat Chhaya on account of failure of Chhaya's father to fulfill demands of money. On 11-04-1992 accused Pramod bet up Chhaya with a stick, he held Chhaya by her hair, accused No. 2 Janabai brought kerosene and poured it on the person of Chhaya and Pramod set Chhaya on fire. Chhaya sustained severe burn injuries. Fire was extinguished and she was shifted to the hospital. Chhaya succumbed to her injuries on12-04-1992 after her statements were recorded by the police.

(3.) We have considered the grounds raised in the memoranda of the two appeals as expounded by Adv. Patwardhan, learned counsel for appellants/accused in Criminal Appeal No. 175/96 and Adv. Mujumdar, learned Additional Public Prosecutor for the State in the course of their forceful arguments. The learned counsel for the appellant/accused submitted that the trial Judge erred in holding that the accused were guilty of subjecting Chhaya to cruelty. For this purpose he took us through the evidence tendered. P.W.3 Shyamrao stated that after the marriage when Chhaya met him on2-3 occasions she told him that her husband and mother-in-law used to beat her, starve her and keep her outside the house. She had also told him that she was asked to bring money from her parents and that she was beaten and sent to her parents' house.