THE STATE OF PUNJAB Vs. TARSEM SINGH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) NARINDER Kaur Daughter of Gurumukh Singh was married to Hussan Lal respondent No. 2 on November 24, 1985. She died in her matrimonial home in village Raj Gomal, Police Station Nurmahal. District Jalandhar of Punjab State on July 6, 1985 after brief illness. Her parents were duly informed and attended the funeral. Six days thereafter on July, 1986 they took back the articles of dowry etc. etc. On July 17, 1986 father of the deceased named Gurumukh Singh addressed to Senior Superintendent of Police, Jalandhar a complaint in writing under section 302 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code urging that it was a case of dowry death and the death was caused by throttling the neck of the deceased by respondent No. 2; while respondents No. 1 and 3 father and mother respectively of respondents No. 2 held Narinder Kaur (now deceased) in their grip. All the three respondents were also alleged to have cremated the dead body hurriedly to conceal evidence of their crime with intention of screening themselves from legal punishment for it.

(2.) ON being charged with the commission of the offences under Section 302 read with Section 34 and Section 201 of the Indian Penal Code, all the three accused pleaded 'not guilty' thereto and claimed to be tried. Vide its impugned judgment dated November 11, 1986 learned trial court acquitted all the three accused holding that the FIR was much too delayed demands for more dowry stood negatived from letters exchanged between the decease and her sister in her parental house and written by the sister aforesaid to respondent No. 2 and the allegations made in the complaint being an afterthought based on suspicion and hearsay evidence and that there was no occasion for respondent No.s 1 to 3 to make an extra judicial confession of their guilt to the father of the deceased after such a long time when every thing had been amicably settled between the parties.

(3.) WE have heard Shri S.S. Kang, DAG Punjab for the State, Shri H.S. Sandhu, Sr. Advocate, with Mr. S.S. Jolly, Advocate for the respondents and perused the relevant material on record very carefully.