STATE Vs. REGULAGADDA ANANDARAO

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal is directed against the judgment of acquittal passed by the Assistant Sessions Judge, Bapatla in Sessions Case No. 224 of 1993 dated 24-6-1994, whereby the learned Judge has acquitted the respondents accused of the charges levelled against them under Sections 498-A and 307 of the Indian Penal Code.

(2.) It is no longer in dispute before me that the complainant PW-1 was married to A-1 on 30-7-1988 and A-2 is the mother of A-1. The complainant PW-1 is the daughter of PW-2 and sister of PW-7.

(3.) The case of the prosecution, in brief, is that PW-2 gave an amount of Rs. 10,000.00 and three sovereigns of gold as dowry to A-1. He also gave 0.50 cents of land to PW-1 which is situated in Nizampatnam. PW-1 and A-1 lived happily for two years. A girl was born to them. Then A-1 was addicted to drinks and developed illicit intimacy with another woman and spent the cash and the gold and, thereafter, started asking PW-1 to sell the half acre of land. On her refusal to sell the land, he started practising cruelty on her. One day A-1 beat her on her head whereupon she went to her parents house. On 7-5-1992 at the interference of her mother-in-law A-1 and others she returned to the house of A-1. But A-2 and A-4 instigated A-1 to kill her if she did not sell the half acre of land. On 24-11-1992 A-1 beat her whereupon she went to the house of PWs-3 and 4 on their asking and stayed there for some time. She has also lodged a report with the police and was medically examined. She again came to stay with A-1. On the mid-night of 28-11-1992 when she was sleeping in her house A-1 came there in a drunken state and abused her. Then saying why she has lodged the report with the police, which cannot take any action against him, he tried to press her neck. In the meantime, A-2 to A-4 came there and with the intention of killing her kicked her on her abdomen, but some-how she managed to escape and gave a written report with the police, which registered a case under sections 498-A and 307 of the Indian Penal Code vide Crime No. 82 of 1992. The police prosecuted the accused persons.