PANKAJ Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB AND ANOTHER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By way of this order, I shall dispose of the aforesaid petitions as these have emerged out of the judgments passed by the Courts below whereby Pankaj Gulati petitioner in CRR-1823-2013 has been convicted and sentenced for commission of offence punishable under Sections 406, 498-A of the Indian Penal Code (for brevity 'IPC') pertaining to FIR No.129 dated 17.08.2001 registered in Police Station City Phagwara and his coaccused namely Rama Gulati and Barjina @ Dimpa have been acquitted of the offence charged against them.

(2.) Rama, daughter of Pritam Dass Sachdeva (complainant) was married to Pankaj on 31.01.1995 at Phagwara. After the marriage, they lived together as husband and wife. No child was born out of the wedlock. Raj Gulati is the mother-in-law and Dimpa is the sister-in-law (Nand) of complainant Rama Gulati.

(3.) The complainant submitted an application before the Director General of Police, Punjab on 10.07.2001 with the allegations that her parents arranged decent marriage and gave sufficient dowry, handed over to the accused with a clear understanding that it was Istridhan of the complainant. The gold ornaments were handed over to the husband, costly clothes to the mother-in-law and household articles to the sister-in-law. The accused expressed their dissatisfaction over the dowry articles brought by her. After few days of marriage, they started taunting, maltreating and harassing her on one pretext or the other. Her husband taunted her for not bringing maruti car, the mother-in-law taunted for bringing gold ornaments less in quantity and poor in quality. The sister-in-law taunted for bringing poor quality of dowry and poor management at the time of performance of marriage. She was forced to work day and night like a servant and was not allowed to move out, talk to her parents or any other person telephonically and kept like a slave in the matrimonial house. Her husband is a habitual gambler, so he always remained short of funds and whenever she refused to pay him, she was badly beaten. It is further alleged that after the marriage, her parents gave gifts, sweets and cash etc. but these articles could not satisfy lust of the accused for more dowry. She tolerated brutal treatment of her in-laws hoping of good days but all in vain. She wrote letters to her parents about bad treatment and demands. Ultimately on 11.04.2014, she was turned out of the matrimonial home by giving beatings and was asked to bring maruti car and cash if she wanted to live there. Her parents convened a Panchayat but the accused lastly refused on 25.06.2000 to rehabilitate her and return her dowry articles.