SUSHANT KUMAR MEHER Vs. STATE OF ODISHA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioners Sushant Kumar Meher and Subransu Sekhar Meher have filed Crl. Rev. No.1093 of 2006 challenging the order dtd. 30/8/2006 passed by the learned Sessions Judge, Bolangir (hereafter 'trial Court') in Sessions Case No. 88-B of 2005 in rejecting the petition filed by them under sec. 227 of Cr.P.C. for their discharge from the offences under Sec. 302 and 304-B of the Indian Penal Code.

(2.) The prosecution case, as per the first information report lodged by Yudhistir Meher before the officer in charge of Tusura police station on 31/3/2005 is that he had given marriage of his daughter Bharati Meher (hereafter 'the deceased') to the petitioner no.1 Sushant Meher as per Hindu rites and customs on 4/7/2003. During the marriage, he had given one Hero Hondo motor cycle, gold ornaments weighing about seven tolas and other house hold articles to his son in-law.

(3.) Mr. H.S. Mishra, learned counsel appearing for the petitioners in both the revision petitions argued that it is a case of suicide and the deceased hanged herself from a beam with the help of a plastic rope and therefore, the submission of charge sheet against the petitioners under sec. 302 of the Indian Penal Code was unjustified. It is further submitted that from the suicidal note written in odia by the deceased on the prescription pad of Dr. S.K. Meher was seized by the I.O on production by petitioner no.1 in presence of the witnesses on 13/4/2005 in which the deceased had specifically mentioned that whatever step she was taking on that day was on account of the in-laws' family members and her husband was no way responsible for the same. Learned counsel further submitted that ignoring all these aspects, the I.O. submitted charge sheet and the investigation is perfunctory and after the death of the deceased, the parental side family members of the deceased have foisted this case and therefore, the petitioners should be exonerated from the charges. In support of his submission, Mr. Mishra has placed reliance on the decisions of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the cases of State of Karnataka -Vrs.- L.Muniswamy and others reported in A.I.R 1977 Supreme Court 1489, Union of India -Vrs.- Prafulla Kumar Samal and another reported in A.I.R 1979 Supreme Court 366, Niranjan Singh Karam Singh Punjabi -Vrs.- Jitendra Bhimraj Bijja and others reported in A.I.R. 1990 Supreme Court 1962 and Dipakbhai Jagdishchandra Patel -Vrs.- State of Gujarat and another reported in (2019) 75 Orissa Criminal Reports (SC) 1.