NIZAR RAZZAKALI PANJWANI Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The aforesaid appellants, who were the accused in Sessions Case No.120 of 1996 and who shall be hereinafter referred to as the accused, have challenged the judgment dated 7 th January, 1999 whereby the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Nashik has convicted and sentenced them for offence under Section 498A r/w. 34 of the Indian Penal Code .

(2.) Factual matrix, as emerges from the record, is that the deceased Rachana was married to the accused no.1 on 2 nd April, 1995. The deceased, accused nos.2 and 3 and the accused no.4 are the family members of the accused no.1. Rachana and the accused no.1 initially resided at Mumbai. They later shifted to Nashik and were residing along with the other family members. Rachana and accused no.1 were blessed with a baby girl on 4th January, 1996.

(3.) It is the case of the prosecution that Rachana had informed her parents that she was being subjected to cruelty and that the accused were demanding dowry. She had even addressed letters to her parents informing them about such demands and cruelty. On 14 th March, 1996 Rachana called her parents and informed them that she was being harassed and requested them to take her back. On receipt of the said information, PW3, PW11 who are the parents of Rachana and her uncle-PW12 went to the house of the accused and brought her back to their house at Nashik. It is alleged that the accused no.1 had refused to hand over the custody of the minor child to Rachana.